Sweet Devil!
by Lillith Gray
Summary: May is an energetic, yet certainly unusual young lady, who, despite her fear of Pokemon, sets out on a journey of her own. Along the way, she meets four very different men, and forms a team of Pokemon that will change her life forever. But, how will she fare when the nefarious Team Aqua sets it's sights on all that she holds dear? (Reverse harem ORAS fic!)
1. Chapter 1

_(Author's Notes)_

_Welcome to an all new story! This time, it's about Pokemon ORAS~ So, as you've probably guessed, this story is based on the new games, and as such will follow the major events of ORAS. That said, I will most certainly be making changes to spice up the story. With the characters, I'm trying to keep most of them (aside from May) GENERALLY in character, however, I'm certainly making changes so they'll fit my interpretation of the story better. :)_

_And fair warning - this is a reverse harem style fic, with the main guys being Steven, Brendan (Who's name I decided not to change to Orlando for nostalgia's sake), Wally, and Wallace. This story will be silly at times, but it will also have some very dark themes. I hope you will enjoy!_

_Oh! And if you were wondering, May's "normal" outfit in this story, is her contest outfit. As for ages, Brendan, May, and Wally are all in their late teens whilst Steven and Wallace are early twenties~_

* * *

"So, Wallace, after having such a huge success with your recent album, you're finally taking someone under your wing, hmm?" The interviewer mused, a bright smile placed on her red lips as she motioned enthusiastically with her hands. The sharply dressed, teal haired man seated across from her chuckled lightly.

"Ah, but of course!" He chirped happily, fingering the edge of his bright scarf.

"But why choose someone so… _strange_?" The women pressed, looking suddenly dubious.

"Strange, you say? But, I heard you, just a few moments ago, listening to her new song, Helen." Wallace quipped happily, giving the camera a little wink.

"A-ahh… well, it is catchy. But still! She doesn't include any pokemon in her videos, or even in the music itself. And the lyrics, well…!" The interviewer complained, her dark brows knitted together. Wallace sighed.

"Yes, it is true that my little protege lacks a fondness for the one thing we all hold dear in this region, and across the world - Pokemon. But, trust me when I say this, May's will be the one name _none of you will forget when this is all over_!" He said enthusiastically, a suddenly sly look crossing over his face for a moment.

"And such strong words from such a high spirited man!" Helen exclaimed excitedly with a little laugh.

"Now, moving on… our sources say she may be moving-"

The screen then cut suddenly to black, and a confused middle aged woman was left blinking idly in her chair.

"Why do you even watch this junk, Mom?" The teenager across from her questioned, as he set down the remote and returned to his dinner. His Mother sighed heavily and stood to bring her empty plate to the sink.

"That girl is supposed to be our new neighbor, y'know, Brendan! Maybe she'll even bring Wallace over sometime…" She related wistfully, as she rinsed her plate. Brendan rolled his grey eyes.

"I really don't care." He grumped as he stuffed a bite into his mouth, a glare pressed to his features. His Mother suddenly shot him a knowing smile.

"She's a real beauty, they say! You should go over and say hello tomorrow." She pressed.

"I care even less!" Brendan shouted angrily, though the slight hint of red on his tanned cheeks was not lost on the older woman.

"Besides… she doesn't even like Pokemon! What kind of weirdo is she?" He grumbled further as he finished his dinner and brought his own plate to the kitchen.

"Yes, it certainly is strange… I wonder what kind of person she is?"

* * *

"Ack, don't forget there's a girl back here!" May shouted from the confines of the dark trailer, rubbing at her bruised leg. Right about now, she was most certainly regretting her decision to ride in the back of the moving van with her boxes, the reason having been to save cash on arranging another ride for herself. She sighed, looking around blearily at the piles of brown cardboard boxes piled high, a thick blanket of darkness settled over her vision. This certainly was a depressing start to her new life, she decided. However, she quickly shook her head, determined not to doubt herself. This was the path she chose after all, no going back!

Luckily, the ride to Littleroot town was relatively short lived, and within an hours time, the two burly men who had previously occupied the truck's cab unlatched the door and threw it open. Light usurped her vision, and May was left to squint as she jumped to her feet and hopped out of the trailer. She could see the dissatisfied stares she was receiving from not only the townspeople who milled about, but the two movers as well. Those two chumps had been giving her confused glances all day, and she knew it was probably her clothes that threw them off. May and the word "pink" had become synonymous amongst the few people who knew her, and currently she was wearing her super gaudy pink mini-skirt outfit, along with a crop top sporting a huge bow. Hair adornments were not something she'd ever forget, and her bright pink heels and heavy make-up left people staring. However strange they thought her though, not a one of them could deny that this cheeky girl was the queen of _cute_.

"Jeez, have these people never seen a cute girl before!?" May grumbled, before raising an eyebrow at her two movers.

"Well? I paid you to bring the stuff in, right?" She asked pointedly with a charming smile, as she jabbed a finger at the rather plain looking house in front of them. They exchanged glances before hurriedly gathering the small amount of boxes as she unlocked the front door. They deposited them just inside the entrance and hurriedly made their exit. Normally, they would have left the box-arranging and furniture unpacking to a couple of Machokes, but this girl had requested no Pokemon be involved in the move. But, of course, she only received a discounted rate, rather than the help of her movers. Once the truck had departed, May was left alone on her front porch. She stared determinedly at the entryway and threw a fist up into the air.

"Adventure in Littleroot town START!" She shouted as a battle cry, before marching inside and slamming the door shut behind her.

Unbeknownst to the girl, an old women across the street sighed and shook her head fervently.

* * *

"Hmm…" The tall man mumbled as he sat in his office, one leg continuously shoving off his cluttered desk to keep the wheeled office chair in constant motion. He brushed a few strands of silver hair from his face as the music flowed into his ears from the headphones placed around his head. His friend, the ever infamous singer and gym leader, Wallace, had recently sent him a new CD, insisting that he listen to it immediately. As per usual, the man's insistence was not accompanied by much of an explanation, and Steven thought these things more of a chore than anything else. Still, he could not dismiss the eagerness and excitement of his friend. This, of course, had led to Steven pulling out his headset and gearing up to hear the new album, and he sighed as he listened to the single that the CD contained. Suddenly, though, Steven's eyes widened slightly.

"… A girl?" He wondered aloud, now listening closer. Sure enough, the singer was indeed a girl with a very cute voice. He had expected Wallace to be the singer as usual, after all the man had never sent him any other music before. A sudden curiosity flickered in Steven's grey eyes, and he sat up a little straighter as the voice pulsed into his consciousness. Something about this voice… he knew something was strange about this person. Digging through his desk drawer, he found the album cover and turned it over to the backside. Sure enough, there was a photo of a girl dressed in pink from head to toe, winking at the camera with a rather girly pose.

"Sweet Devil, huh?" He read the song title. Somehow, he found himself feeling a bit excited.

* * *

Wally took in a deep, shaky breath as he stood outside his parent's bedroom. He fidgeted with the hem of his jacket for a few moments, before finally placing his pale hand on the doorknob. He slowly turned it over, opening it just enough to gain a view of the inside. His Mother sat peacefully on the bed, tying her shoelaces.

"M-mom?" He called quietly. The woman looked up.

"Oh! Wally, what is it?" She asked, motioning him inside. Wally took a deep breath and walked quietly into the room. His Mother gave him a beseeching look, but the teen hesitated. He knew his next words would not please his parents, but he also knew that things could not stay the way they were. He had to change _something_, in order to find his own place in this world.

"I… I have a request!" He said, his voice unusually high.

"Yes, what is it, dear?" She asked, looking more than a little concerned.

"I want permission to catch a Pokemon." He said, his voice quivering, though he looked determined. His Mother was momentarily shocked, her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly, but then her gaze softened.

"Sweetie, I know you want to have some sort of adventure, but you know that isn't good for your health. I don't think it's a good idea." She explained as she ruffled his green hair, but her son's brows only furrowed. He found her tone condescending, and it frustrated him.

"Mom, you don't understand, I have to do this." He said sternly, his courage welling up into his words as he spoke. The woman could see the desperation in her son's eyes, and it made her heart ache for him. But, that wouldn't stop her from worrying. Wally had always had fragile health, and something like this…

"We'll have to talk to your Father about it…" She mumbled quietly, but the wide, bright grin that spread across Wally's face brought tears to her eyes.

* * *

Brendan sighed and rolled over, pulling the blankets closer to him. He knew he needed to get to sleep, but somehow he found himself unable. He stared at the dark ceiling in silence, his thoughts running over to tomorrow.

"Let's see… tomorrow I have to help Dad out with catching pokemon… ugh… it should be fun though-" His thoughts were abruptly interrupted, however, by a loud crashing sound coming from his window. Shocked, he blinked and remained still. What was that? But in a few moments, the same jarring sound clattered through the room. Confused, the brunette slid of bed and cautiously approached the window. To his astonishment, an unfamiliar girl was standing down below in his front yard, a pile of rocks at her feet. Her bright pink clothes contrasted greatly with the dark evening sky, and she wore the strangest expression. Her eyes were big and bright, while her pinks lips were pressed into a sort of half-smirk-half-smile. Confused, he opened the window and stuck out his head.

"Hello there, neighbor!" She called, waving vigorously.

"Who the hell are you?" He responded with grumpily. She smiled wildly, and made some sort of hand gesture that he guessed was supposed to cute.

"I'm May, you're super cute new neighbor! And you need to come down here right now!" She yelled, completely disregarding the fact that she might wake someone up. He sighed exaggeratedly.

"Look, I'm not interested. Besides, I have to get up early tomorrow." He reasoned, as he withdrew from the window. What an annoying chick.

"I honestly don't care, you're coming over to help me!" She shouted back, her perfect smile still in place as she winked at him. Then she reared back and tossed another rock at his window, however since it was open this time, the rock wizzed right passed his head and collided noisily with the pokedoll on his desk.

"Are you crazy?!" He yelped. She nodded happily.

"Absolutely, now get down here!"

Brendan growled under his breath and hurriedly threw on a shirt from his dresser, before quietly making his way downstairs. He slipped out of the house, and met her in the yard. She stared at him with wide eyes that glittered in the darkness.

"Wooow, you actually came!" She exclaimed excitedly, he only glowered at her.

"Anyways, you're strong, right? I need some help getting my boxes upstairs to my room." May explained. Brendan arched an eyebrow.

"What? Why didn't the movers do that? Or your Dad?"

"Well, _obviously, _they didn't, silly, so I need you!" She said, before grabbing him by the wrist and marching off down the road. She led the teen into her house, and he was relieved to see that her boxes were few in number.

Her house was really bare, even for having just moved in, he noted. There weren't any couches or chairs, even. What kind of family did she have, if they didn't have any furniture, and couldn't even help her get her boxes upstairs?

She motioned to a small pile of three large boxes at the foot of her stairs.

"Those three go up, it's the second door on the right." She told him, and resigning himself to his fate, he lifted the first box and headed upstairs. There was only one other bedroom upstairs, aside from her own, but strangely when he passed by it, the room appeared to be completely empty and no one was sleeping inside. As he set the box down, he turned to her as she sat on the mattress in the corner, which oddly had no bed frame nor blankets.

"… Where are your parents?" He asked. A smirk crawled across her lips at his question.

"Oooh, curious about me already, eh?" She chirped. He could feel the heat rush to his face.

"N-no… I'm just-" She giggled at his attempted excuse.

"Well, they won't be living here with me."

"You live alone?"

"Yeah!" She said, smiling. "Anyways… the boxes?

"Uh, right."

After he had brought the last box upstairs, the teen met her in the living room. She was sitting on a particularly tall box playing with her Pokenav, but she quickly hopped down and set it aside when she saw Brendan. She smiled warmly and grabbed his hands in hers. She looked almost angelic as she watched him.

"That's it! Really, thank you for helping me!" She said. That smile… was kind of nice, he thought fuzzily as he stared down at her bright eyes.

"Well… I guess I'll go, then. Goodnight." He said awkwardly as he headed for the door. She followed him, but stopped him before he left her porch.

"So, I owe you a favor now. But…" She began, and he looked at her curiously. Suddenly, her expression turned sour. "If you ask me for a kiss or something, I'm going to kick you to my heart's content! I saw you blushing earlier when I thanked you." She explained flatly, and Brendan could only stare at her in in shock, his face turning beet red yet again. Then she smiled.

"Goodnight!" She sung, before slamming the door in the poor teen's face.

"What the hell is wrong with that girl?!" He shouted into the night, before angrily stomping back to his own house.

* * *

"Are they ready?" A decidedly burly man asked stiffly, his eyes narrowed as he stared down at his desk with clenched fists.

"Yes, sir! The grunts have been deployed. The Devon Parts will be ours in the next few days." A woman responded with, a hand placed on her hip as her long dark hair tickled her back. The man neglected to respond for several moments, and the woman was left to bite her lip with apprehension. They could both feel the storm brewing, and it left an unsettling feeling in their bones.

"You know, Shelly... we have to be successful. No one can get in our way." He stated, and the wild look in his dark eyes made the woman's heart jump unsteadily. Shelly knew, in that moment, that she would follow this man into the very pits of hell, if only he asked her. She averted her gaze with narrowed eyes.

"Of course."


	2. Chapter 2

_(Author's Notes)_

_Yaay, the next chapter is ready! I found this chapter really amusing to write. I'm very unaccustomed to writing humorous things, but hopefully you can still enjoy it!_

_Now to answer reviews~_

_**lightxhope2124**: I'm so glad you're enjoying this! Yes, that's the basic gist. May will still be challenging the gyms along the way, however! And yes, as this is a reverse harem style fic, many pairings will be featured! (MayxSteven, MayxBrendan, MayxWally, &amp; MayxWallace) However, the current main pairing I have planned will be StevenxMay. ;)_

* * *

"Yes, yes, I'm doing fine!" May chirped into the Pokenav's speaker. The hint of shortness in her voice, however, was entirely ignored by the man on the other end. She sighed and crossed her legs as her mentor continued.

"So, you've unpacked? How are the neighbors?"

"Yep, everything's put away. Just gotta get a comforter or something… maybe some chairs. And the neighbors — well, I'm pretty sure they all think I'm on crack. Or something like that." May related flatly, though he could hear her smile in her tone. He chuckled; this girl really didn't sugar coat anything. He liked that about her.

"So… no word from your Dad yet, then?" He asked, his voice full of trepidation. He knew it was a touchy subject with the girl, and the silence that followed left him feeling uneasy.

"No — wait, hang on sec, Wallace! I think I hear something outside." May finally responded with, hopping up from her make-shift bed and and throwing the window open. She covered the Pokenav's speaker so that Wallace's panicked voice was effectively muted, and stuck her head outside. Looking out over the sunset-soaked lawn, she didn't see anything unusual. However, upon listening closely, she could hear the faint sounds of screaming coming from the woods behind her house. Confused, May picked up the device again.

"Weird. Someone's, like, screaming bloody murder in my backyard."

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah, so, anyways, about my—"

"No, no, wait! You have to go help them!"

"Huh? Why?" May asked, and her blatant lack of empathy had Wallace sighing in exasperation.

"C'mon, May! You're the heroine of this story, you have to go help that person!" Wallace insisted, and though she couldn't see it, back in Sootopolis, he was smiling quite excitedly. This was the chance he'd been waiting for!

"The hell? What story?! Are _you_ the one on crack, Wallace?" There was a deep breath and a short silence on Wallace's part, following her outburst.

"May. You're going to go out there and help that person." Wallace's suddenly serious tone caught May off guard, and her brows furrowed as she bit her lip — clearly she was getting annoyed.

"Ha! It's amusing that, after all the time you've known me, you think you can order me around." She said with a cute smile and a threatening tone, as she examined her nails.

"Dear, I'm not ordering you. I just have a feeling about this — something good is going to happen. Go!" He explained. May was well aware of Wallace's "feelings". The man claimed, quite publicly, to be clairvoyant, but May wasn't really sure she believed him. After all, Wallace was known for being theatrical.

"But… there are Pokemon out there!" She protested, knowing that this was quickly becoming a losing battle. The silence on the other end left her exhaling a frustrated breath.

"Fine, fine, I'll go! You're the one with the money anyways…" She grumbled before hanging up. How annoying! Feeling heavily irritated, she shoved her Pokenav into her purse and hurriedly left the house, careful to lock up after herself. Standing at the edge of her yard, she took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and gave herself a little pep talk.

"I can do this!" She mumbled tersely, before plunging into the forest. It didn't take long to locate the commotion, and she soon found herself staring at a somewhat chubby, middle-aged man with his back against a tree. There was a Poochyena in front of him, it's lips curled back into a snarl and it'a back arched with anger. The man had two bite marks on his legs; the puncture wounds looks deep, and there were splatters of dark red blood thrown about his skin.

"You there, oh thank goodness! You have to help me!" He yelped as his eyes fell upon May. The girl was frozen in shock, she barely heard him. Her eyes were glued to that Poocheyena's face.

"W-what do I do?" She murmured, her voice cracking. She felt like she was on the verge of a mental break down, as the memories flooded into her mind. She remembered how that Vigoroth's claws had pierced her skin repeatedly. She remembered the smell of blood that became so common place, but most of all, she remembered _his face. _The face of her Father.

"There are some pokeballs in my bag, you can use one of the pokemon inside to fend this guy off, please!" The man explained, though the look on her face disturbed him.

"I can't battle…!" She shouted worriedly.

"I understand it can be scary, young lady, but please help me! I'd do it myself, but this Poocheyena's smart. I can't get to the bag! I made the mistake of approaching a pup after my son left earlier, and the mother came out of nowhere!" He explained. May could feel her lip trembling, but even through the terror, she could feel a thrumming in the back of her mind. A feeling that wanted to pick up that pokeball and bludgeon the mutt until it could no longer move. Shaking, she walked over to the bag and reached her hand inside.

"I can do this, I'm the heroine after all!" She said with a cocky little smile, all false bravado. She could feel multiple pokeballs inside, but it didn't matter to her which Pokemon she chose. Withdrawing the ball, she looked at the little red and white container in confusion.

"Wait… how do these work?" She questioned, and the professor was beginning to feel a little frustrated.

"Just press the button and throw it!"

May did as she was told, and there was bright flash of red light that caused her to squeeze her eyes shut tightly. When she opened them, a bipedal little lizard was standing between herself and the snarling Poochyena. It had a bushy, dark green tail and piercing yellow eyes that seemed to gaze right through her.

"What the hell is that thing?!" She exclaimed. May had never seen this Pokemon before — not that she was particularly knowledgable about these creatures, though. The man's frustration deepened, but he deigned not to show it.

"It should know pound, give it an order!"

"Uh… Okay! P-pound. Use pound, weird lizard thing!" She shouted. The Pokemon looked back at her with it's yellow eyes. Was that a smirk she saw? Nonetheless, the Pokemon obeyed her and charged the Poochyena. It only took a few turns before the bloodied Poocheyena collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Sighing with relief, the man approached her and vigorously shook her hand.

"Thank you so much, young lady! You really saved me! How about we head back to my lab?"

* * *

"So, you're our new neighbor? The singer, right? My wife was really excited for you to meet our son." Proffesor Birch said with an air of merriment, despite the fact that one of his assistants was currently stitching up his wounds.

The lab was certainly an amazing place, even May had to admit it. The building was larger than anything else in town, and the white washed walls and various machinery gave it a very professional feel. Of course, there were many Pokemon and people hanging about as well, and needless to say, May was feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Well, now that I've saved the day, this heroine shall be making her exit!" May stated with a dazzling smile and a low bow, completely ignoring the professor's chit chat in favor of a quick escape.

"Oh, please wait! You don't have a Pokemon yet, right?"

"Uh, no, but—"

"Then, take this Treecko! It seems attached to you." Birch said with a wide smile. May could feel the blood draining from her face. No, absolutey not! May laughed nervously but shook her head.

"I'm not really into Pokemon… You should keep him." May said, turning to leave. However, before she could make her escape, she felt a tugging on her leg. Looking down, she saw the little green Pokemon grabbing on desperately to her shoe. There was a look of determination reflected in his golden eyes.

"Y'know, you may not like Pokemon, but… When you were battling with this guy, you looked pretty happy." Birch commented as he stood up from his chair, the assistant having removed himself once the work was done. Birch grasped her hand, and in it he placed Treecko's pokeball.

"At least give this guy a chance. You can keep him for a few days and see how it goes. Maybe make a day trip over to Oldale town? My son is on route 103 right now, doing some research. He left a few hours ago, so he shouldn't be back until tomorrow evening." The professor related with a smile. May looked dubious, but thinking back on the battle… maybe there _was_ something to this? The thought both disturbed and excited her.

* * *

"Make-Up bag?"

Check.

"Sweets to snack on?"

Check.

"Water?"

Check.

"And… Pokemon?" May mumbled the last one as she stared down at the pink-and-white duffel bag sitting on the counter, now crammed full of various items she figured would be useful on a day trip. Originally, she hadn't planned on going, but upon thinking about it that night, she had decided it might be a little exciting. Aside from Littleroot, May had never left her home town of Petalburg, and this was a rare opportunity; especially since it was very unsafe to travel without a Pokemon by your side.

May could see the red glint of the pokeball that held the professor's Treeko within her open bag, and still it's very presence made her uncomfortable. She took a deep breath as she zipped up the bag and slung it over her shoulder. She opened her front door with a glaringly confident, yet not so obviously forced smile, and marched down the well-worn path that led out of town.

May and Treecko encountered two wild pokemon along the way, but all of them were easily knocked out by the little lizard Pokemon. Still, by the time the pair reached Oldale town, they were both quite physically exhausted. The Pokemon center was easy enough to locate, though, and as the nurse took in Treecko, she realized this was her first time ever having entered one of the red-roofed buildings. They appeared to not only heal injured pokemon, but to have a little cafe and rooms available for nightly rent as well.

After grabbing a bite to eat in the cafe, May found herself wondering around Oldale town. It was pretty small, but still bigger than Littleroot. It was very quaint, and children played idly in the streets while adults shopped and worked throughout the town. As she walked, she unconsciously began observing the people of the city, along with their Pokemon. They all seemed so happy… did they not know what these creatures were capable of? She shuddered at the thought.

May sighed as the afternoon found her at the edge of town. Before her stood route 103 — but did she really want to bother with seeing Brendan? She wasn't a very social person to say the least. Despite her flamboyant personality, May preferred to keep to herself as much as possible.

Her thoughts were interrupted quite suddenly, though, when a dark figure darted towards her face, and a moment later she was on the ground with a pulsing pain in her forehead.

"Ugh…" She mumbled blearily, as her hand flew up to rub her aching forehead. Luckily, she didn't feel any blood or serious injury. When her eyes fluttered open, she was quite surprised to see the familiar face and strange hat of Brendan staring down at her. He wore a look of interest mixed with bemusement that really ticked her off.

"Are you okay?"

"WHAT THE HELL?!" She shouted, suddenly sitting up straight without warning. She was so fast, that the girl nearly head butted Brendan, but the teen managed remove himself just in time.

"Sorry, sorry! It wasn't me!" He defended himself loudly, taking a quick step back as she stood up and dusted herself off. She turned to him with a look of vehemence.

"I was trying to catch a Zigzagoon, but it ran off before I could throw a pokeball. It went towards town, so maybe it already has a trainer?" He explained, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"You're paying for my dry-cleaning bill. Ugh! And now I have to fix my hair…" She grumbled, her glare intensifying. She then turned away from him abruptly, shot him the middle finger over her shoulder, and stalked off.

"Hey! Wait!" Brendan called, jogging up beside her. May gave him him a look of disdain.

"WHAT?"

"You have a Pokemon now, right? My Dad told me you took Treecko! We should battle!" He said with a smug smirk. May froze, suddenly feeling uneasy. A battle…?

"Aw, what, scared you'll lose?" Brendan prodded, his smirk widening. He was confident that he could beat her without much trouble. It would be payback for the other night!

May reacted on impulse, and quickly withdrew the pokeball from her bag. She reared back, pressed the button, and launched the ball straight into Brendan's smug face. Brendan stumbled backwards as a bright flash of red light covered their vision. Treeko stood between the pair, clearly looking amused.

"You wanted a battle, didn't you?" May chided with a pleasant smile. Glaring, Brendan withdrew his own Pokeball, and released his Torchic. The two Pokemon stood face to face, and so did their trainers.

"Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you!" Brendan growled with a glare of his own. And so the battle began!

May's years of living with a gym leader told her that Treecko's absorb attack would be little more than useless against a fire type, so she opted to stick with the pound move. Treeko had speed on Torchic, and the battle between beginners was short lived.

"I WON! I WON!" May shouted excitedly as she jumped up and down, her little pink ribbon bouncing along with her. Brendan rubbed his temples, clearly frustrated.

"You may be cute… but you really are the worst!" Brendan grumbled under his breath, thankful that the girl failed to notice his words. In all the excitement, May had entirely forgotten her early uneasiness, and when she thought of it again, she and Brendan were already well on their way back to Littleroot town.


	3. Chapter 3

_(Author's Notes)_

_Aaaand here it is, the next chapter! I honestly can't believe I wrote it so fast, haha. So, May's journey has finally begun! I also gave her Treecko a name in this chapter, and points to anyone who can guess the character his name was inspired by! __Anyways~ On to reviews!_

_**lightxhope2124: **Yes, actually! Treecko was _my_ starter, and I named him the same name that she does in this story. I personally don't like the other starters very much, so Treecko was the obvious choice! I'm glad you're enjoying the story, though, and I look forward to writing more!_

_**KagamineRin02: **Thank you! I'm really glad you like the reverse harem aspect, because I wasn't sure how Pokemon fans would take it haha! I'm a huge Otome game fan, and I guess that kinda comes out in this chapter. I totally agree though! A reverse harem needs a really interesting plot to carry it! May will be getting her second Pokemon in the next few chapters, and I think the pokemon I chose might actually be a little bit of a surprise to some of you~ And yes, I felt May needed a rough past to round out her character, so I ended up making Norman the bad guy. I guess he's the obvious choice, haha!_

_Anyways, thank you so much for the reviews, guys! They get me inspired to keep writing this! :D_

* * *

May sighed heavily as she collapsed onto her mattress. The house around her was dark and quiet; shadows played on the walls and every creak and crack of the house made her jump a little. She felt almost like she was sleeping in one of those spooky houses in horror movies, or something. May wrapped the jacket she was using as a blanket around her body, but her thoughts would not rest.

It had taken all afternoon for her and Brendan to make their way back to Littleroot. However, she still remembered what he had told her when they had parted.

_"Well… from tomorrow on we won't really be neighbors anymore. That was kinda short lived, eh? I've decided to head out on my own journey. Of course, I'll be helping my Dad along the way, but…" _

That sentence had really got her thinking. Here was this idiot, ready to take on the world. He had a bright future, and his parents were going to support him. But… what was _she_ going to do? At this point, Wallace and her music were all that she had. Even if Wallace did his best, at this rate, she wouldn't become the amazing superstar of her dreams. Not the way things were now. Hoenn was not that accepting. And did she really plan to spend the rest of her life in this dump of a town?

May clenched her fists around the fuzzy jacket. And, tomorrow was the day she was supposed to give Professor Birch his Treecko back. If she did that, May knew she would be stuck here in Littleroot town for the foreseeable future. Despite herself, May had had fun that day with the little Treecko. It had been terrifying, to be sure — but maybe she could make it work… maybe she could go on a journey too?

* * *

"So… I'm keeping him! No going back on what you said~" May chirped with a quick smile. Birch grinned from ear to ear.

"I'm so happy to hear that, and I'm sure Treecko is too!" He responded with excitedly. "So, what will you name him?" He continued. May looked up, toying with a strand of her hair.

"Hmm… People name Pokemon? I guess it makes sense." She mused. May honestly hadn't thought about it; her Father had never named his Pokemon, so the idea hadn't occurred to her. She looked concerned for a few moments.

"I think I'll call him... 'Tsubaki'. Yeah! That works!" May exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. She decided to name him after one of her favorite anime and game characters; both him and her Treecko were very cheeky, but still adorably clingy. She nodded happily to herself, despite the fact that she still held a sense of dread everytime she saw that pokeball.

"Oh! But are you going to be leaving Littleroot as well?" The professor asked politely.

"Of course! Who would want to stay _here_ permanently?" She said with a sweet smile, though her tone was clearly sardonic. Birch laughed uncomfortably and began digging in his desk. "Besides, Wallace said it'll be easier to arrange recording sessions if I'm on the move. There aren't really any studios here, after all." May continued, barely paying attention to the older man.

"Then you should take this!" He said, handing her a rather advanced looking piece of technology, that he had removed from his desk.

"Uh… what's this? Some kinda pokenav rip-off?" She asked dubiously. Right about now, Birch was quite glad this girl was not his kid.

"No, it's a pokedex! You can use it to get information on the Pokemon you meet throughout your journey. It will not only record them all, but help you keep track of their attacks and stats!" Birch explained.

"Hm. Cool, I guess. Anyways, thanks and all Professor, but I gotta get packing. See ya!" She said with a little wink, before turning tail and skipping out of Professor Birch's lab.

"Is that girl really going to survive out there…?" He mumbled after she had gone.

"I doubt it." His assistant replied flatly.

* * *

The next morning, May and Tsubaki set out. She was full of nerves, but her outfit was on point and she felt more than a little confident that, at the very least, she would be the most fashionable person on route 101. That alone put a smile on her face.

It was well into the afternoon, when she and Tsubaki reached Oldale for the second time. As they rested at the pokemon center, May looked over the map in her pokenav.

"Hmmm… we should be able to make it to Petalburg before nightfall. No way we're staying outside anyways." She mumbled to herself. The very thought of returning to Petalburg made her feel like vomiting, but she knew it was the only way forward. If all went well, she wouldn't be there long anyways. After a quick lunch, she picked up some items from the pokemart and headed out once again.

Along route 102, May was challenged by a few trainers. However, she declined all of them with a cute smile and a wave. She didn't see much point to battling when it wasn't necessary — after all, she wasn't power hungry like her father. That said, she did find herself slowly getting more comfortable with battling as she and Tsubaki encountered many wild Pokemon on their way.

Sadly, however, afternoon turned into evening, and evening found May and Tsubaki still a few hours from Petalburg.

"W-what do I do?!" May shouted into her Pokenav after hurriedly dialing Wallace. She found herself standing in a clearing, with darkness looming around her and panic taking hold. She wasn't afraid of the dark or anything — but she _was_ certainly afraid of the wilderness. It was dirty and gross, after all!

"Calm down, dear. You have a sleeping bag, right? Just set up camp, it'll be fine if you let Tsubaki sleep out of his pokeball." Wallace said, his voice all soothing tones.

"Are you kidding, I don't have one of those!"

"Well… I guess it's not too cold, so you should be okay… haha."

"'SHOULD'?!" May yelped, her eyes wide.

"And… where am I supposed to change? Wash my face? I'll look horrible tomorrow if I don't—"

"May. You'll be fine. This is your big adventure!"

"B-but—"

"Have fun~" He sung, before a resounding click echoed through her ears.

"Bastard hung up on me…!" May whined. She felt like crying as she released Tsubaki from his pokeball. Did people actually enjoy this kind of thing? It boggled her mind. May sighed and plopped down on the ground. Tsubaki stood beside her, watching closely.

"Well… I guess we're stuck out here…" May mumbled, sounding rather irritated. She knew they could try to make it to Petalburg, but Tsubaki was still low level and it didn't seem safe after dark.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she heard a strange noise that sounded quite like something… _crawling_… along the leaves behind her. Horror filled her eyes and her hands began to sweat as she slowly inched her head around. Is that a…?

"B-B-B-BUUUUG!" May screeched at the top of her lungs. Only inches away from her stood a bright red Wurmple, crawling around in the fallen leaves as it came closer. May scrambled away from it in a panic, and Tsubaki immediately placed himself between the bug and his trainer, his eyes narrowed venomously.

"T-tsubaki! Kill it with fire!" She shouted, her voice shaking. If there was one thing that May hated more than Pokemon, it was _bug _pokemon. Tsubaki gave her a confused look. Fire?

"Uh… I mean, pound! Use pound!"

Needless to say, after the Wurmple had been taken care of, May spent most of her night nervously singing to herself, completely unable to sleep, as various unseen creepy crawlies milled about the wilderness around her. This, to her, was the worst start she could have possibly imagined.

* * *

Wally took in a deep breath of the crisp night air. It was well passed midnight, so it had been easy to sneak out of his house in Petaburg. Unbeknownst to his parents, he actually did this quite a lot. Wally had a special place he always went to and everything — it was a pretty little pond that reflected the moonlight pleasantly a few hours outside of town. He knew it wasn't really safe, but he always took along one of the family Pokemon just in case, so it didn't seem so bad to him. It was the only time he could at least pretend to have fun.

Tonight, it was unusually chilly, and he clutched his jacket closer as he meandered along the well-worn path. As the quiet pond came into view, Wally became aware of a voice that tickled his ears. It was someone — no, a girl — singing softly. As he approached, he could just make out the figure of a girl huddled up against a nearby tree. Her bright eyes were looking out over the gentle waters, and her pale skin was bathed with hints of moonlight. Her hair was brown and drifted gently on the wind, while she was wearing an oversized, pale pink sweater that hid her curves. What Wally found most appealing, though, was her voice; the song she sang was gentle and atmospheric, while her voice was soft, and yet so powerful. He could feel a blush spread across his face as he watched her from the shadows. He wanted to approach her, but the butterflies in his stomach prevented him.

He was shocked out of his reverie when she paused and stirred. The Treecko in her lap lifted it's head as her eyes shifted towards him. Quickly, he hid behind a tree, scared she might see him. His heart was racing as he listened. She muttered something he couldn't quite make out, and then she leaned her head against the tree once again. As her breath evened out, he realized she had fallen asleep. Peeking around the tree, he could see that she was shivering in the darkness. Without another thought, he shrugged off his jacket and crept up to the girl. Her Treecko eyed him carefully, but luckily it didn't seem to think him a threat. He draped the jacket around her shoulders with a smile, and then turned to leave. He gave the cute girl one last glance over his shoulder, before heading on home.

* * *

"Ugh… that was horrible." May grumbled, her head face down on the table as she sat in the Petalburg Pokemon center's cafe. She knew memories of that night would haunt her for months to come.

May had arrived in town early that morning, though, and of course, she had headed straight to the center to clean herself up first thing. And now, she was sitting in the cafe with a cup of coffee in her hand, attempting to wake herself up before she headed out for the woods. The faster she left Petalburg, the better.

Suddenly hearing a commotion near the door, May looked up, and what she saw sent her into a panic for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. Standing in the doorway among the whisper's of the center's patrons, was her Father; Norman. May had never expected to run into him during her stay, and her first instinct was to dive under the table. The gym leader was the last man on earth she wanted to see. However, before she could move a muscle, his dark eyes zeroed in on her.

"May!" He called tersely. May's complexion turned pale as she watched him approach. He glowered at her.

"I figured you'd be here after what Birch told me. C'mon, we're going back to the gym." He nearly growled. May shook her head fervently, but found herself unable to speak. Norman only rolled his eyes and grabbed onto her wrist so hard that it hurt, before dragging her out of the Pokemon center.


	4. Chapter 4

_(Author's Notes)_

_I actually wasn't feeling very well today, so I had lots of time to write haha! This chapter turned out a little longer than the others, but I think that's a good thing. Anyways, this is probably one of the darker chapters in the story, but hopefully I explained things well enough that you guys can understand how Norman came to be the way he is in this story. I actually find it pretty sad myself. ;A;_

_On to reviews~_

_**lightxhope2124: **I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, yaaay! :D Haha, well, my original plan for Norman was to make him absolutely deplorable, but I changed my mind a little bit when writing this, and tried to make him more understandable. Hopefully I succeeded! No comment on the Wurmple, we'll just have to see hehe~_

_**KagamineRin02: **I'm happy that you liked Wally! This chapter showcases a lot more of his cuteness, so I hope you enjoy it~ They are definitely linked in a way, so I hope this chapter has the explanation you're looking for. May will briefly participate in contests, but the main person who will be into contests will actually be one of the guys! Not going to say who though hehe. :3 DING DING We have a winner! Tsubaki Asahina from BroCon is Tsubaki's namesake. I'll be naming all her Pokemon after my favorite reverse harem/otome game characters. And yep, you'll have to keep reading to find that last bit out. ;)_

_**forgot un and pw: **Yes, you're absolutely correct! Tsubaki is my personal favorite from BroCon, but I also really love Iori and Azusa haha. Thank you so much! :D_

_Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

"How dare you show your face in this city again! I knew you were helpless, but I didn't know you were this _stupid_, May." Norman ranted to his daughter, as they sat in the living quarters located in the back of the Petalburg gym. May was sitting in front of him, her hands limp at her sides as she stared down at her lap. She bit her lip, unable to speak.

"Really, are you trying to embarrass me that badly?! May, look at me! Don't be a coward!" He shouted, and May hesitantly looked up at his angry face. There were so many things that she wanted to scream at him, but her words failed her. The gym leader sighed with frustration.

"Well, at the very least, you've come to your senses and returned home for good. You'll, of course, have to work in the gym a lot to make up for lost time." He stated, glaring at her. For the first time in months, May found herself able to look him in the eyes. This couldn't be happening! There was no way she could go back to that life.

"The first thing you'll be doing, is taking care of this kid that's been coming around lately. He wants me to help him catch a Pokemon, but it's completely pointless for the leader to do something so trivial, so today you'll—"

"I'm not staying." They were the first words that came out of her mouth since he had found her in the center earlier that day.

"What?" He asked sharply.

"I don't know what the Professor told you, but I'm only passing through. I began a journey with Tsubaki yesterday, and I have no intentions of staying in Petalburg." Her voice was steady as she stared into her Father's seething eyes, with her hand's clenched around her Treecko's pokeball.

"Are you kidding me?! With that weak little thing? I taught you better than that! First this singing nonsense, and now this?! No matter what I do, you're always going to be a weak little girl, aren't you?" He growled, leaning in close to her. May's brows furrowed.

"I will continue singing and…! We're… going to become stronger! We'll be… more than you ever could!" She finally shouted back, her feelings overflowing as tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. She felt a strange, rebellious feeling welling up inside of her. Was this determination?

Without warning, Norman struck her hard across the face. He was so fast that May barely registered the hit until her cheek began throbbing. For a moment, she sat with her face turned to the side, shock written across her features.

"Why am I surprised?" She mumbled angrily. This was always how her Father ended his arguments — with violence. It seemed that was all he was capable of these days. She remembered well how, even when she was young, whenever she got in trouble, he would always turn to his Vigoroth. The Pokemon was always high strung, and he considered it training to let the Pokemon do the punishment for him. That was why she hated Pokemon so much — the look of joy in that Vigoroth's eyes when it struck her still terrified her at night. Norman wasn't always like that, though. It was ever since May's Mother died, that he threw himself into his training. He didn't seem to care about anything else anymore. She wished so badly that they could go back to the way things were; back when they were still a family.

Without another word, May placed a thin hand on her cheek, and she walked out of the room.

"That's right! Run away, like you always do!" He shouted after her, before reaching up and throwing a shelf full of books to the floor. The books scattered to the ground like a rain of fire, and when he stooped to the floor to examine the mess, a particular bookmark that had fallen from one of the pages caught his eye. He picked it up, and read the name of his wife, as it had been engraved into the metal.

"What happened to our family...?"

* * *

Wally couldn't keep the smile off his face as he strutted down the road that led to the Petalburg gym. Today was finally the day — the day he would catch his very first Pokemon! He had finally obtained permission from his parents to have one of his own, and even though they weren't ready to allow him to go off on a journey, he was excited to visit his relatives in Verdanturf town.

As the prominent, glittering gym building came into view, Wally sped up his pace and tried to quell the nerves wrestling around in his stomach. As he approached, though, the door to the gym slid open, and a girl walked out. For a moment, she looked as if she was going to burst into tears. However, as soon as she saw him standing a few feet away, her expression went blank. Then, she gave him a little smirk. As he looked at her, though, he realized with a start that this was the girl he had seen at the pond last night! He then noticed that she was injured — there was a dark bruise forming on her cheek, and a small bit of blood speckled her skin.

"A-are you okay?" He asked her with concern, as she turned to leave. She didn't seem inclined to answer, but as she walked away, a thought occurred to him. Was this girl Norman's daughter, May? The gym leader had told him this morning that his daughter would be helping him today. He quickly followed after her.

"Wait, please! Uh… are you May? I was told that—" He asked nervously. She paused and looked him over carefully.

"Ah… so you're the one who needs help catching a Pokemon?" She asked with a charming smile. He could feel the heat rushing to his face as he looked at her. But… was that a hint of sadness he saw in her eyes…?

"Y-yeah!"

"Alrighty then, let's go get you a Pokemon!" May said with a quick wink and an exaggerated hand gesture.

"My name is Wally… by the way." The teen mumbled a few minutes later as they walked side by side.

In all honesty, May wasn't exactly sure _why_ she was helping this guy. Realistically, she should have fled Petalburg at the first opportunity, and never looked back. Thinking about it, though, she realized it was probably because of the way her Father had brushed Wally off. Seeing that… she wanted to do something her father couldn't — or rather, _wouldn't _before she left the city.

"U-umm… Are you sure you're okay?" Her companion stuttered as they walked along the path that led out of town. He was watching her with worried blue eyes.

"Of course I'm fine, quit worrying! Besides, we only just met. You shouldn't care." She said happily, between bouts of humming enthusiastically. Wally looked doubtful as he tugged on her skirt. Not only was she injured, but… there was something kind of sad about watching her. He wanted to help her, especially since she was going to so much trouble just to help him catch a Pokemon today.

"Please, at least allow me to treat you're injury! I brought a first aid kit with me." He said, digging through his bag. May looked away.

"You're really too nice… someone's going to take advantage of you someday. Maybe it'll even be me!" She chirped with a smile that was a little too bright. Wally couldn't help laughing. She was… really cute, he thought. He motioned to a nearby bench, and with a sigh she sat and he began cleaning the small wound on her cheek. May had to admit... it was a nice change having someone worry about her. However, she refused to allow herself to get used to it.

"Well… it doesn't look too bad. It'll probably take a week or so to heal fully, though." He commented, as he place a small bandage on her face.

"You mean I'm going to have this ugly thing on my face for a week?! UGH! I'm gonna need more concealer…" May complained with a pout.

"I still think you're really—" Wally began, but realizing what he was about to say, he quickly clamped a hand over his mouth as his face turned bright red, unable to speak further. May chuckled but gave him a deadpan look as she flicked his forehead.

"Don't get ahead of yourself." She said flatly, before getting to her feet. A moment later though, she turned to him with a smile and offered her hand.

"Now, c'mon, we've got to get you a Pokemon!"

* * *

Wally was overjoyed. After the two of them had reached route 102, May had led the green haired teen into the depths of the infamous tall grass. May insisted that it was pretty lame just to catch a Zigzagoon or Poochyena, so they had spent a good hour tromping around in the wilderness, searching for the perfect starter for Wally.

Eventually, the pair had come across an interesting Pokemon indeed — a wild Ralts made it's presence known to them just before they gave up, and a battle commenced. The capture had been a complicated process, seeing as both Wally and May were very much novice trainers, not to mention that neither of them had ever captured a Pokemon before. But, putting their brains together, the pair managed to use Tsubaki to weaken the Ralts just enough, and then successfully captured the little creature in a Pokeball! That harmonious third "click!" had them both cheering, and now they found themselves heading back to Petalburg underneath the afternoon sun. The little Ralts sat happily in Wally's arms, and May found the guy's grin a little infectious. Today had been an absolutely horrible day for her… but May felt comforted that at least something had come of it.

"Ah, that's my place!" Wally spoke up as he pointed to a large house that lay up ahead. May gave a whistle at the pretty place, and Wally laughed nervously. They stopped at the drive, and Wally turned to her.

"… What will you do now? Are you going on a journey?" Wally questioned, his eyes wide with enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I'm certainly not staying here… I'll leave immediately." May said, looking off into the distance. Despite how she forced a smile, Wally could see her lip trembling, and he was left to wonder what exactly had happened in that gym before he came around?

"W-well… maybe we should… or we c-could, umm…" Wally muttered, and May arched a brow at him.

"C'mon, spit it out!"

"W-we should exchange pokenav numbers!" Wally exclaimed, perhaps a bit too loudly. May chuckled, with a hand on her hip.

"Seriously, you get all flustered asking that?" May commented with a smirk. Wally's face went bright red as he stared at his feet. May looked thoughtful.

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt, haha." She concluded, pulling out her pokenav. They then exchanged numbers, and Wally gave her a wide grin.

"I… really hope that we get to meet again!" He called as she turned. May waved at him over her shoulder.

"Who wouldn't want to meet me again?" She shouted, before skipping off into the distance.

* * *

By the time May made it out of Petalburg, darkness was fast approaching. She knew she might have to face another awful night out in the wilderness, but to her, that was far more preferable to running into her father again at the Pokemon center. As the residential area of the city faded out, and route 104 began, May could feel tears prickling at the edges of her eyes. Part of her wanted to run back to Littleroot town right then and there and give up on all this; but she knew, that at this point, something like that simply couldn't happen. She was certain now that she had to prove her father wrong. She had to become stronger.

Suddenly, a commotion off to her right caught May's attention. Looking over, she could see a dilapidated old shack that strangely had the words "spooky" and "beware" spray painted in bright colors across it's windows. There was a group of three kids crowded onto the tiny front porch, banging on the glass door. Curious, she walked up behind them.

"What are you idiots doing?" She questioned, and they all shrieked with fright as they spun around to face her.

"Oh... it's just a girl." The boy in the group mumbled, and the two girls glared at May.

"We're _trying _to get the ghost to come out!" One of the girls shouted, the other looking a little spooked by the whole situation. Now that she thought about it, May remembered hearing legends of an old haunted house in the outskirts of Petalburg back in her school days. A thought occurred to her then.

"So... this place is abandoned, right?" May questioned, looking in one of the windows.

"Yeah, duh!" The boy shouted. May grinned as she saw that the inside was completely empty. Score! Maybe she wouldn't have to sleep outside after all! A ghost Pokemon or two certainly preferable to innumerable amounts bug Pokemon crawling around her whilst she slept, anyways.

"Later, suckers!" May shouted as she pushed the children aside and threw open the front door. Soon after, she heard the children loudly make their exit, and May was left alone in the old shack. She made a make-shift bed out of her clothes, and, after changing to a nightgown, nestled in for the night. She released Tsubaki from his pokeball and pulled out her pokenav. May browsed around the map function for a bit, planning out the next day in her head. It actually surprised her that there was a beach a few miles away from here, and since May had never seen the sea, this greatly excited her. Maybe that swimsuit she bought last year would come in handy, after all!

After an hour or so, May put away the device and tried to get some sleep. However, yet again, she found herself unable. She wondered vaguely why she hadn't met any ghost pokemon yet — was the legend a fraud? She sighed and rolled over. Without even thinking about it, May began to sing. It was a quiet little lullaby that her mother used to sing to her when she was little. Warm memories began to flood her weary mind as the lyrics left her lips.

Unbeknownst to the girl, or her sleeping Treecko, a little black creature appeared just down the hall from the room they were set up in, listening intently. At first, it quivered with fear, but as it listened to the gentle tune, it began to smile and drew closer. It was attracted to the sound of her voice, despite it's weariness. May didn't notice at first, not until her flashlight began to flicker, did she notice the little Shuppet hovering in the corner of the room. May paused her song, and the Pokemon looked startled, fully preparing itself for May to run from the room screaming and send her pokemon to attack it. Instead, May only smirked.

"So, _you're_ the big bad ghost everyone's so scared of?" She mused, watching as it blinked it's big eyes in surprise. Despite herself, she actually found it kind of cute. May took out her pokedex and allowed it to scan the Shuppet.

"Shuppet grows by feeding on dark emotions, such as vengefulness and envy, in the hearts of people. It roams through cities in search of grudges that taint people." The pokedex spoke in it's ever robotic voice.

"Woooow, that sounds pretty cool!" May thought aloud with stars in her eyes, before laying back on her make-shift bed. Somehow... this pokemon didn't seem so bad to her. She certainly didn't find it anymore frightening than she now found Tsubaki, especially since it hadn't attacked or anything, like most Pokemon would have. The little Shuppet watched as the strange girl shut her eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep, it's gaze never wavering until the moment that she awoke the next morning.

That morning, May woke up relatively early. She managed to clean herself up a bit, and change into her swimsuit before heading out again. However, when she left and set out on route 104, she realized something was following her. Sure enough, the little Shuppet hovered beside her, grinning wildly.

"You... want to come with me?" She asked in surprise, to which the creature nodded happily. May laughed.

"Alright then! We've got a long road ahead of us! But what should we call you... Maybe Kanato?"


	5. Chapter 5

_(Author's Notes)_

_Welcome to chapter five! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, haha. I just couldn't wait all the way until Dewford for Steven to appear, so I wrote a little scene for him in this chapter. Plus! I wrote a battle scene this time. It's certainly not something I'm used to writing, but hopefully it turned out okay. ^_^_

_Onto reviews~_

_**lightxhope2124: **You're absolutely correct! May's shuppet is named after one of my all time favorites; Kanato Sakamaki. DiaLovers is my favorite otome, actually! I cosplay from it as well. :3 I'm glad you enjoyed Wally's character! He's really easy to write, so I like coming up with his scenes haha! And yes, I though it kind of fit her personality for her to be afraid of something relatively harmless, like bug pokemon, but totally okay with super creepy things, like ghost pokemon. Thank you! :D_

* * *

Having two Pokemon with her now certainly made May more than a little nervous. She kept them in their pokeballs as much as possible, but both were very clingy and seemed to be quite fond of her. That, at least, was something that May was thankful for. Her journey was only just beginning, but she felt that she had learned a lot about both people and Pokemon so far.

May sighed contentedly as she adjusted her sunglasses. It was mid morning, and the girl found herself at the beach outside of Petalburg. She was sprawled out on a white beach chair, dressed in her pale pink and lavender super frilly bikini, as her gray eyes stared out into the glittering blue ocean. She was quite relieved that today had been an overcast day, as May felt that the sun was the greatest enemy of her perfect skin. But, having applied an ample amount of sunscreen, she found herself enjoying the salty breeze and gentle waves more than even she expected.

"Hmmm… this is a nice change of pace." She murmured happily, as she closed her eyes and leant back. The bruise on her cheek was certainly still there, but she had removed the bandage and covered it with concealer earlier that morning. She began to drift off as her body relaxed — but she was jarringly brought back to reality when she realized something was blocking what little sun she had. May cocked an eye open, and what she saw left her blinking in surprise.

A silver haired man was leaning over her, his handsome features set into a rather bland expression. His sharp eyes seemed to be examining every part of her. Then, he smirked. But only slightly.

"I found you." He finally stated, and it was then that May realized he was rather strangely dressed for the beach. He was wearing an expensive looking custom suit, with a red ascot tied around his neck, and perfectly styled silver hair. Recovering from her shock, May sent him a suspicious glare. Sure, he was pretty, but that didn't matter much to her. Ever since her Father had changed following her Mother's death, May had decided she didn't need men in her life. Not that she really wanted women in it either, she just particularly hated men after what her father had done to her. During her school days, May had rejected many confessions from her peers, and she had become a pretty infamous heartbreaker amongst her classmates.

"And who the hell are you?" She asked sharply, crossing her arms beneath her chest. He looked bemused.

"A friend of Wallace's. He's told me a lot about you, so I had to seek you out myself when I heard you were nearby… I have to say, though, he was correct. You're really cute." He said flatly, as though he were commenting on the weather. He looked at her as though he were examining a rare artifact, and the curious expression in his eyes left May's eyebrow twitching as her frown deepened. This guy was really ticking her off!

"Wallace didn't say anything about you coming to…!" May grumbled, but she trailed off in shock, when the man suddenly leant into her neck and… strangely… began sniffing her hair.

"Hmm… he's right. You smell like strawberries." He whispered into her ear, as his nose tickled her neck. Panic welled through May's body and she quickly scooted away from him, her face red. She realized with a start that the queen of comebacks had somehow just lost all footing in this conversation. And besides that… _how the hell did Wallace even know what she smelled like?!_

"P-p-p-pervert!" She yelped, eyeing him suspiciously. The man chuckled absentmindedly. He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then he placed a hand beneath his chin.

"I think… I like you. Yes, I like you, May. Your reactions are interesting." He stated with a smirk at the confused, blushing girl, as if it were the most obvious thing he had ever said.

"Ha! O-of course you do! Get in line…" May huffed, turning her face away so that he wouldn't see how red it was. His smile widened.

"Well… I had best get going. The ship to Dewford should be here shortly. Until we meet again, Princess." He said with a little wave, as he turned and headed for the dock. May watched him leave with a frown.

"What a weird guy…"

* * *

"WALLACE, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" May yelled into her pokenav. On the other end, Wallace laughed nervously.

"What's wrong now?" He asked sheepishly. May growled.

"Some weirdo came up and started sniffing me at the beach! This is all your fault, why are you telling your weird friends where I am?!" She shouted angrily, as she marched through the Petalgurg woods. May was seriously ticked off at this point. She'd been wondering around the woods for over an hour now, and she'd come across so many bug Pokemon that she literally felt like crying from frustration. Not to mention, there was a kid waiting near the entrance who had audaciously challenged her, and being determined to strengthen her team, May had accepted for once. However, after he sent out a _third_ Wurmple, May had been about ready to punch him in the face and leave it at that. However, now May found herself about halfway through the woods, and exhaustion was beginning to set in.

"Who?" Wallace asked in surprise. He had an inkling as to who this phantom sniffer was, but it shocked him nonetheless.

"Silver haired guy in an expensive suit."

"Wooow, I never would have expected that from _him_."

"Well he—"

"Oh! But, May, guess what?" Wallace asked excitedly. He was obviously eager to change the subject. May gave a frustrated breath, but Wallace continued happily.

"I was able to schedule a recording session for you in Rustboro, for that new song we were talking about!" He exclaimed, and May immediately perked up.

"Really?!"

"Absolutely!" He chirped, and he went on to give May the time and address for the session. It wouldn't be until the next day, so May knew she had plenty of time. After that, they said their goodbyes, and it wasn't until after she had hung up, that she realized Wallace had completely dodged her spite. She rolled her eyes at the clever man, but continued along the winding path that led through the forest.

As she came around a turn, May noticed a lanky man in a lab coat standing in the middle of the path, looking very confused. When he noticed her, he immediately approached.

"You there! Have you seen any Shroomish around here?" He questioned frantically. May honestly had no idea what that was, but she could only assume it was some kind of drug made from mushrooms, so she shook her head fervently and brushed passed him. She had no time to deal with anymore weirdos today.

However, she yelped in shock as a rather strangely dressed man appeared from the trees, and shoved her out of the way as he approached the man in the lab coat. May screeched sharply as she stumbled over a rock and fell rather unceremoniously down on her butt.

"I was going to ambush you, but of course you had to dawdle in the woods for _forever._" The man who shoved her shouted at the other guy. May growled and scrambled to her feet. She honestly didn't care about whatever was going on between these two idiots, but she certainly _did_ care about beating this punk up for shoving her and dirtying her new skirt. Looking at him, though, she thought he looked pretty weird. He was dressed in blue and black, with a striped shirt and a strange insignia on his hat. He looked like he was in some kind of weird pirate gang or something, she thought.

"You! Devon researcher! Hand over those papers!" The pirate man demanded. May completely ignored his words, though, and stomped up to him. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down until they were on eye level.

"Look, douchebag, you don't go around shoving cute girls, because guess what? They shove back!" She shouted into his face, before shoving the shocked grunt hard in the chest. He stumbled backwards and gaped at her. Here was this short girl, dressed all in pink and decorated head to toe, telling him off in the middle of Petalburg woods. The man in the lab coat instantly hid behind her, latching onto the girl's shoulder.

"You're a trainer, right? Help me!" He shouted in fright. May rolled her eyes at this guy's spineless attitude. However, before she could say anything, the pirate man spoke up.

"What? So you're gonna protect this guy? No one gets mercy from Team Aqua!" He yelled, and May looked confused.

"Wait I don't—" But before she could finish, the Team Aqua grunt sent out his his Poochyena. The Pokemon charged her, teeth bared and mouth gnashing. May hurriedly sent out her Shuppet to intercept the attack. Her eyes narrowed as she repeatedly told herself that she had to be strong.

"Kanato, use shadow sneak!" May ordered, looking down at her pokedex to see her opponents health bar. Kanato growled lowly at the dog-like Pokemon, and a shadow crept up from behind the opponent, only to descend upon the Poochyena. She was unaware that ghost-type moves were not very effective against dark-types, but still, the move took out a decent amount of the Poochyena's HP, seeing as Kanato was a few levels higher. May found herself smirking as the Poochyena was ordered to use sand attack. He was planning to set her up, but she wasn't going to let them get that far. May then ordered Kanato to use will-o-wisp, and Kanato used his ghostly powers to summon a strange, purple fire. The Poochyena was then afflicted with a serious burn. The man growled in frustration and ordered his Pokemon to use tackle. The Poochyena charged Kanato, but it's body went straight through the grinning ghost Pokemon, and it it tumbled over itself. The next shadow sneak along with the burn they had earlier inflicted, had the Poochyena succumb to May and Kanato's power. Kanato hovered menacingly before the grunt, a smile pressed to it's black face. The man watched in fear as the ghost Pokemon drew nearer, prepared to protect his trainer. There was nothing else he could do, so he hurriedly picked up his exhausted Pokemon, and took off running.

"Don't think of getting into Team Aqua's way in Rustboro! We'll take you out!" The thug shouted over his shoulder as he retreated.

"Whew, that was close! Thank you so much young lady, that ruffian didn't rob me of these important papers because of you!" The man exclaimed, clearly relieved.

"Hmph! He got what he deserved for shoving me!" May spat with a hand on her hip. In fact, she would have liked to have had Kanato use a shadow sneak _on_ the grunt, but she quickly suppressed that thought. "But anyways… what is all this 'Team Aqua' stuff about?" May asked him. It wasn't really that she particularly cared, but she was now a little worried that she might run into them in Rustboro.

"You haven't heard? They're a vicious group of thugs that have been running amuck in the Hoenn region the last few months. No one's really sure what they're after, though…" The man explained, wringing his hands nervously. Suddenly, the man looked up in shock.

"WAIT! He said Rusboro! I better head back immediately!" He yelped, before shoving something into her hands and taking off running. May looked rather confused. Looking down at the weird machine he had left in her hands, she read on the tag that it was an "EXP Share", whatever that meant. Shoving it into her bag with a sigh, May brushed herself off and headed back out on the trail that led through the Petalburg woods.

* * *

Unbeknownst to May and her two Pokemon, a women dressed similarly to the man she had just driven off, lay hiding at the edge of the forest. The woman watched with narrowed eyes as May made her leave from the forest. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a pokenav, quickly dialing an all too familiar number.

"Mr. Matt… this is the Petalburg recon team checking in." She began, and a rather burly voice responded shortly.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but… my partner was stopped by a girl. We were unable to retrieve the papers." She continued, her fists clenched.

"A girl…?" The voice on the other end mused curiously.

"U-umm, yes, her Shuppet was quite strong. And she had another Pokemon with her, as well." The woman nervously explained, and she was met with a dark chuckle on the other end.

"Forget about the girl for now. I want you to continue investigating the energy we detected." The man barked, and the clear order had the woman at attention.

"R-roger, sir!" She stuttered, before hurriedly hanging up the device.

"Phew…" She mumbled worriedly, relieved that she hadn't gotten yelled at.

"But that girl… I wonder if she'll be a problem…?"


	6. Chapter 6

_(Author's Notes)_

_So, this chapter definitely has some more serious themes towards the end of it. When I set out to write this story, I really wanted Team Aqua to actually be _scary_. I felt that they really needed to be the bad guys here, and not just kinda quirky punks like they are in the games, haha! But anywyas, I still hope you guys will enjoy this chapter! :D_

_Reviews~_

_**lightxhope2124: **Don't worry, Steven's not going to be that bad, haha! He's just a little... strange, I guess? But I really love his character, even though it's a bit harder to write! And yes, he will be a rock collector. However, much like in the games, it's not the biggest feature of his character. I'm glad you liked her attitude! She will continue to get braver as the story goes forward. ^_^ And actually, the wait for evolution won't long at all, hehe!_

_**gummyninjagirl01: **I'm glad you're enjoying the story! And yes, I agree. I'm pretty terrible with the descriptions, and I really need to come up with something better. Maybe I'll work on it tonight! Parts of her team are definitely based off mine, yes! However, there will be a few differences. And as for the bug Pokemon... maybe. ;)_

* * *

Brendan stared in shock as the doors to the Rustboro Pokemon center slid open noiselessly, and in sauntered a rather exhausted looking girl dressed from head to toe in bright pink clothes.

"May?" He mumbled in shock from his seat in the center's little cafe. It was then that he locked eyes with her from across the room, and the girl smirked at him, brimming with confidence as usual. She strutted up to him and slid into the seat across from the teen.

"What are you doing here?" He asked cautiously.

"Gracing you with my presence, obviously! You're going to treat me to lunch." She stated, calling the waiter over.

"Hey, wait—" He called, but May ignored his protest and placed an order for a rather large meal, indicating that Brendan would receive the bill. Then she began happily humming to herself, planning on entirely ignoring him throughout her meal. Brendan grumbled to himself in irritation, but eventually his curiosity got the better of him.

"But, seriously, why are you here? You still live in Littleroot, right?" He asked, and she looked thoughtful.

"Well, I guess _technically_. My house is still there, after all. But I'm traveling now." She explained flatly. Brendan gave her a genuine look of surprise.

"Wait, so _you_ made it all this way without a ride or something?" He questioned, looking highly skeptical. May seemed very offended.

"Hmph! Of course I did!" She shouted, and Brendan winced at the volume of her voice. She then grinned at him. "AND. I did it all whilst looking _far _more fashionable than you~" She sang triumphantly, waggling her finger at him. Brendan rolled his eyes at her cockiness. Soon her food arrived, and May began to eat happily.

"So… you're taking on the gyms, then?" He asked a few moments later. May paused. She hadn't really thought about it, in all honesty… but her goal was to become stronger than her father, so…

"Yeah, I am." She said, and the suddenly serious look on her face startled him a bit. She seemed really determined, as she stared passed him.

"Well, if you want to take on the gyms, you'll have to get registered as a trainer…" Brendan mumbled uncomfortably. Looking closer at her face, though, he could see the faint outline of a bruise on her cheek, that she had clearly tried to cover with make-up. He wondered concernedly what could have happened to this girl since he last saw her…?

* * *

"Woooow!" May called excitedly as she walked into the Rustboro city Pokemon gym. Before her stood soaring ceilings and massive fossil displays, that had been put together lovingly by the gym's leader; Roxanne. A giant Kabutops skeleton glowered down at the inhabitants of the gym, and a Lileep seemed to be crawling out from the wall on the opposite side. The massive bones and scaling heights left May feeling quite in awe. Was this what Pokemon gyms were supposed to be like? She, of course, had even lived in the one in Petalburg, but it certainly couldn't compare to this place.

At the door, a man asked for her trainer ID. May grinned, pulled out the newly made card, and handed it over to him. Brendan had told her at the end of their lunch yesterday, that it was possible to register as a trainer at the Pokemon center, and the process had been very much a smooth one. That morning, after a peaceful night's sleep in a nice fluffy bed, May had picked up her ID at the front counter and scampered off to the gym. She had a couple of hours before her recording session began, according to Wallace, so she figured there was no time like the present to test her skills.

The man smirked at May's ID picture, which showcased the girl winking at the camera and throwing a peace sign. May entirely disregarded him, however, and excitedly entered the gym. She soon found herself traipsing through a man-made rock tunnel, where two official trainers from the gym challenged her. May had the type advantage with Tsubaki, however, and she soon found herself face to face with Roxanne.

The leader was dressed like a school girl and sported a rather elaborate hairstyle, and May immediately felt a little intimated by her good looks. She quickly shook her head though and repeated a mantra under her breath:

"I am the queen of cute. I am strong. I can do this."

As she approached the dais, May grinned wildly, even though she could feel her hands shaking.

"I had a feeling when I saw you, that you would come this far." Roxanne greeted, smiling politely.

"Now, would you kindly demonstrate how you battle with your Pokemon?" She called, tossing her first pokeball up into the air without another word. May responded by releasing Tsubaki from his pokeball, and the battle began.

"Tsubaki, use mega drain!" She ordered, and her Pokemon drew up to his full height. Reaching one of his thin arms outwards, Tsubaki drew in bright yellow orbs of energy from the opposing Geodude. The attack was super effective, and left Roxanne's Pokemon with less than half of it's health. May could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest. So far, so good!

Roxanne called for a rock tomb attack, and though it hit before Tsubaki could dodge, the attack did little damage, and with another mega drain, Roxanne was left with only one Pokemon remaining. This time, she released a Nosepass. May scrunched up her face in disapproval.

"What an ugly Pokemon…" She mumbled, but Roxanne paid her no mind and ordered another rock tomb attack.

"That won't work on us!" May yelled, pumping a fist into the air. Tsubaki had speed on the rock Pokemon, and evaded the attack. Then, at May's command, he launched a mega drain that KO'd the gym leader and her Pokemon.

For a few moments, May couldn't believe in her victory. She stood staring at Roxanna with a confused look on her face, as Tsubaki smirked at her triumphantly.

"So… I lost." Roxanne commented quietly, and at her words the situation really set in for May.

"We did it?" May questioned, a smile growing on her lips. Roxanne nodded.

"I understand. Please accept the official Pokemon League stone badge." Roxanne requested pleasantly, handing May the glittering badge that signified her victory.

May left the gym in a daze, but once outside, she paused in the street.

"I DID IIIIIIT!" She suddenly yelled into the sky, jumping up and down repeatedly. People stopped and stared at the strange (and very loud) display, but May neglected to care in the slightest.

* * *

"Great job, young lady! Wallace wasn't exaggerating when he recommended you!" The producer complimented May through the microphone. May removed her headphones and took a deep breath. She'd been singing her heart out for the last few hours in the studio, and her voice was now properly exhausted. And yet, she still managed a cheeky smirk.

"But of course!" She chirped, giving a perky thumbs up to the man in the other room, a window separating them.

"That should be good for now, come on out!" The man said, opening up the door for her.

Needless to say, May was feeling quite superb as she exited the recording studio and emerged out into the crisp, cool night air. As May headed back to the Pokemon center for a good night's rest, she found herself staring at the pretty little badge she had earned earlier that day. May watched as it reflected the light from the street lamps while she walked, and she found herself giving a silent thanks to whatever deity seemed to be watching over her these days. Today had been wonderful, after all!

However, May's joyous thoughts were soon interrupted by someone shouting and the sounds of heavy footsteps echoing off the pavement.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Someone shouted, and May once again found herself thrown aside as she tumbled to the ground. Looking up with a sharp glare, she could see the retreating back of what appeared to be the same guy she had fended off in the Petalburg woods the day before. She quickly got to her feet, muttering a string of curses under her breath. And sure enough, a few moments later, the man in the lab coat came running up behind her, clearly out of breath as he paused before the girl.

"Oh, it's you! Thank Arceus! You have to help me get those parts back! If I don't get them back… I'll be in so much trouble…!" He screeched, and May found the sound of his voice irritating. But she grit her teeth, outrage growing. Whoever these Team Aqua nerds were, they were about to get their teeth knocked in!

"Screw that! I'm showing that guy some manners for sure this time!" She growled, more than confident that she and her Pokemon could take him on again. She then took off running after the thug. The man in the lab coat watched her go nervously, more than a little worried for not only his, but the girl's safety as well.

May followed the grunt out of the city and down a grassy path. Eventually, she saw him disappear into a tunnel that burrowed deep into the rock around it. She hesitated at the mouth of the tunnel — there was a sickening feeling churning around in her stomach, and it left her feeling a little apprehensive. She pushed that aside, though, sternly telling herself that she had to throw away her fears if she wanted to truly move forward.

The tunnel was dark and dank, but the path was straight, and May used the light from her pokenav's screen to guide her way in the dimness. Eventually, she came to a dead end, and of course before her stood a rather frustrated, and rather familiar, looking grunt. He was wrestling with a decidedly frantic Wingul in his arms, attempting to force the creature to be still.

"UGH! This stupid thing is useless! And how the hell did we end up in a tunnel to nowhere?! Wasn't this supposed to be checked out ahead of time?!" He shouted in frustration. When the man noticed May, his glare deepened.

"Godammit! Not you again!" He yelled. May placed a hand on her hip and gave him little wink.

"Of course it's me! I've come to make your day even worse, sweetheart~" She said happily, ready to release Kanato from his pokeball. May's heroics were interrupted, however, as two more grunts, dressed equally strangely, dropped in from a dark ledge behind the first. May felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Could she take on all three of them…?

"Ah, you were right! She is a cocky one!" The other man shouted to the first, and the woman who had arrived with him sneered at May.

"And awfully gaudy looking, too!" She jibed, and May's rage flared up yet again at the woman's comment, and she quickly lost her inhibition.

"Hah! Coming from an ugly woman like you, that's kinda hilarious! I mean, look at that shirt!" May mocked with a little smirk. The grunt fumed.

"C'mon boys! Let's take this brat down!" She ordered, and the three of them each sent in a Poochyena. May grit her teeth as she released Kanato and Tsubaki together. Three on two? This wasn't good… but somehow, May found herself believing that her Pokemon would protect her. That was strange... since when did she believe things like that?

They fought valiantly, and May managed to do quite a bit of damage, but the woman's Pochyena knew bite, which did massive injury to Kanato. A few turns in, and Kanato was collapsed on the ground, while Tsubaki held on with a string of health. May could feel panic thrumming through her body. If she lost… what would these thugs do to her and her Pokemon? That thought hadn't occurred to her when she rushed into the tunnel.

"Poochyena, bite!" The woman called with a violent grin. The dog-like Pokemon charged Tsubaki and hit him dead on. Tsubaki's body crumpled and fell over. May looked over the scene in horror. Could this really be happening…? She ran over to her fallen Pokemon and gathered them in her arms.

"Aww, not so cocky now, huh, little girl?" The woman commented gleefully.

"But what should we do with her? We ought to teach her a lesson!" One of the men mused.

"Leave her to me. You two go find a way out." The woman ordered more than suggested. The two men nodded obediently and scurried off into the darkness. The woman grinned, her dead eyes seeming to glow in the darkness as she sauntered up to May. She raised a lofty hand up into the air, as she looked May over. May could feel her whole body trembling in fear… but somehow… she couldn't give up. She'd worked so hard since she'd left home, and May felt that she and her Pokemon had grown a lot together. She glared at the woman, who was currently the object of her hatred.

"What? Not going to beg for your pathetic life, little girl?" The grunt questioned harshly. May gulped. _Life_? It was then that May realized with a start that hers, as well as her Pokemon's, lives really were on the line. These people… this Team Aqua… they were dangerous guys, whoever they were.

May yelped as the woman tackled her to the ground and pinned her there. The female grunt sat on May's chest and crossed her legs.

"Now, what to do with this stupid little brat…? You've been a major thorn in our side for this operation! If you fuck up this mission as well, we'll all be punished severely. So, that's why I'm going to kill you. Right here, right now. You and your weak Pokemon are going to die. Then, think about it! My supervisors will call me a hero!" The woman monologued, watching May with a deviant stare. She then wrapped her fingers around May's slender neck. And after that, she squeezed as hard as she could.

May flailed her arms about, desperately trying to fend off the thug. She scratched and clawed as her mind ran a mile a minute, but nothing would loosen the mad woman's death-like grip. May could feel her consciousness fading as her vision went black.

Was this really how it would end? Just like that? She felt she had grown so much… and yet now, it was all over. May found that she had a lot of regrets. There was so much left that she had wanted to accomplish… Please, someone, help...!

Suddenly, a bright light lit up the tunnel. The grunt shrieked in shock and relented, turning towards the source of the light. May spluttered and hacked as she gasped for air.

Before the pair, May's Treecko was standing, it's whole body enveloped in white light. As they watched, it's form began to shift and change. And then, when the light finally faded away, a Treecko no longer stood there. Instead, there was a Grovyle, it's glimmering eyes narrowed into thin slits. It wasted not a moment, and charged the woman with it's last vestiges of strength, determined to protect May at all costs. It used it's scythe-like claws to slice open the woman's chest, and she clutched herself as blood drops fell to the ground. The grunt screamed, clearly panicking. Then, she took off running after her comrades, dropping the devon parts she had been holding to the ground in her panic.

Tsubaki opted to run to his trainer's side, rather than pursue the grunt. Tears were streaming down her face as bruises formed on her neck, and yet somehow, she managed to smile at her Pokemon.

"T-thank you, Tsubaki, Kanato!"


	7. Chapter 7

_(Author's Notes)_

_Chapter seven is here already! :D In this chapter, we get lots of Steven, haha! I really hope you guys like his character well enough. I find him really hard to write, but at the same time I love his character, personally! It's really... interesting, I think. But anyways! I wanted to tell you guys that I'm working on some art for this story! The cover is getting close to complete, and what I have up now is just the lineart (which took me 20+ hours to complete on it's own =_=), but I've done other drawings as well, and I hope to share them with you guys soon~ Also, I decided to switch around the events in Dewford a little bit. Nothing major, I just felt May needed some time to recover her resolve._

_Review tiiime~_

_**lightxhope2124: **Yes, she certainly will! She's come a long way already, hasn't she? I'm glad you think I did well with Team Aqua! My writing background is actually in horror stories, haha, so I couldn't make a story that was complete fluff! xD Peeko and Mr. Briney are briefly mentioned in this chapter, but they will have a small scene in the next!_

_**gummyninjagirl01: **I'm glad you like it! ;) My goal with this story is to kinda have the best of both worlds; a little dark, a little silly, and a lot of in-between. Yes, May's growth is very fun to write! I look forward to showing you guys what she can become! :D_

* * *

May listened idly to the steady thrum of the engine as her eyes gazed vacantly out over the seemingly endless sea that surrounded the vessel. She was currently seated on the deck of a boat bound for Dewford, her fingers playing apprehensively with her hair. Her experience in the tunnel outside of Rustboro the night before, had left her thinking about a lot of heavy things.

A man named Mr. Briney had found May stumbling out of the tunnel a few minutes after the incident, his precious Wingull, Peeko, as well as the devon parts, clutched tightly in her arms. After having been brought to the Devon corp. building, and being looked over by one of their physicians, she had returned the parts to the company's head, Mr. Stone. May was entirely in a daze as the president thanked her and commented on her bravery. He had then requested that the girl deliver a letter for him to a man named Steven, who was currently in Dewford. May's mind had completely fled her by that point, and she agreed with a simple nod before heading back to the center at a time well passed midnight. She hadn't been able to sleep at all that night, and, at Mr. Stone's suggestion, had immediately departed for Dewford the next morning on Mr. Briney's ship.

May shifted, pulling her sweater closer around her body as she watched the waves crashing against the boat's hull in the early morning light. She had asked herself a lot of questions the last few hours, but the one that had stuck with her the most, was probably the one that would haunt her for years to come.

"If I had died back there… would anyone have missed me?" She murmured the question into the salty air. And though the answer saddened her, May knew that things were better that way. She had never pretended to be a good, sweet girl — a girl that people could love, and she also knew that she never _could_ be that girl, even if she wanted to. May was loud, prideful, and more than a little broken inside. That would never change, she decided. All she could do is keep moving forward, and hope for the best.

May's depressing thoughts were soon disturbed when her pokenav began ringing. The jarring sound startled her a bit, but she quickly dug the device out of her bag. She didn't bother checking the caller ID — Wallace was the only one that ever called her anyway.

"Wallace?"

"No… um, it's Wally." She heard the meek voice on the end of the line, and it certainly shocked May to hear the guy's voice.

"You're all over the buzznav right now… I was a little worried so I, uh, decided to call…" He explained quietly.

"You were… worried?" She muttered confusedly. She couldn't wrap her head around the thought.

"Y-yeah! But, um, sorry, maybe you didn't want to talk right now…" Wally thought aloud, suddenly feeling self conscious.

"Jeez, don't call someone with such half-heated reasons, silly!" May chided, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"S-sorry!" Wally apologized profusely. May only chuckled. She'd never say it out loud, but the girl was secretly glad he had called her.

"But really… I'm glad you're okay, May! You were so brave…"

* * *

When May's feet hit the wooden boards of the dock in Dewford town, she had decided that depression was irrelevant, and she had to shake this off. She put on a grin and threw her hands up into the air.

"You had better be prepared, Dewford! May has arrived!" She yelled, skipping up and down the dock. She then jumped down onto the sandy beach, and took off running into the heart of the little town, leaving a trail of confused citizens in her wake.

An hour or so later, after having rested a bit, May was standing before the entrance to the Granite Cave located at the edge of town.

"Ugh! Why did I agree to this, again?" May mumbled. She had decided to deliver the letter that Mr. Stone had requested first, and besides that, she felt a little more training would be good before attempting to challenge the gym. So, even though she thought it a major pain, she decided she had nothing better to do and plunged into the darkness.

She was feeling pretty annoyed at this task by the time she managed to find her way to the main cavern, where Mr. Stone had seemed confident that his son would be. She had spent a solid two hours stumbling around in the dark, battling innumerable Zubats, but she found that the cavern itself was reward enough. The large area had been lit by mining lights that were placed strategically throughout the cavern, and their flickering illumination licked at the walls hungrily. Before her stretched a gigantic painting, one that had been scrawled across the rocky walls themselves, and that must have been unimaginably ancient. It depicted a massive, whale-like Pokemon that May had never seen before.

However, what put a frown on her face, was the man standing in front of it. She recognized him immediately as the silver haired man she had met on the beach the other day. Was this mysterious guy Mr. Stone's son, Steven?

"Hmm… So in the ancient world, their primal forms held this much power…? What terrible strength… Yet, it's certainly different than mega evolution. Hmmm. It seems my questions will not be answered today." The man mused aloud, as he stood before the ancient painting. As May approached, though, he turned to face her. He looked slightly surprised to see another person here.

"Ah, it's you. May… I can't say I expected to see you here." He commented with a smile. May was careful to keep her distance as he examined her. She didn't want a repeat incident of their last encounter.

"Hah, naturally, I'm unpredictable!" She announced with a smirk. Then she looked as though she remembered something important.

"Oh! But you're Steven, right?"

"Ah… I suppose I never did introduce myself properly. My name is Steven Stone, and I'm a collector of rare... well, stones." He explained, as he approached the girl. As he stood before her, Steven took her hand in his own and placed it to his lips.

"… And it is certainly a pleasure to see you again, Princess." He said, smirking up her as he held her small hand. May immediately snatched her hand away from him with a glare.

"Don't do unnecessary things!" She shouted, her voice uneven.

"So, then, what brings you here? Perhaps… did you want to see me again that badly?" He teased, his voice flat, but holding the slightest hints of hopefulness. May rolled her eyes at his arrogance.

"Hmph, as if! I have a letter for you from your father." May stated shortly, handing over the letter she had been holding on to.

"It's so much like father to be this old fashioned." He commented drily, pocketing the letter. He then turned to her with an alluring smile.

"Now, of course, I'll have to repay you. But first…" Steven said, suddenly stepping behind the confused girl. He drew their bodies close together, and used one hand to guide her gaze over the massive painting, and rested the other on her shoulder. He brought his lips to the nape of her neck so quickly that May barely had time to respond. At first, May's instinct was to get away from him, but as her eyes fell over the enigmatic painting, she found her mind going suddenly blank.

"Now tell me… what does this painting make you feel…?"

"It's… hard to explain… I feel strange looking at it…" May mumbled, feeling lost in a maze of thought. The world seemed to melt away around her in a kaleidoscope of colors.

"Yes, absolutely. A primal world, lost thousands of years in the past… A legendary Pokemon of tremendous power became humanity's greatest threat… The terror aroused by that power is clear to see in this ancient work. It's unnerving just looking at it, hmm?" He whispered into her ear, and May winced every time his lips brushed her neck.

"Now, shall I treat you to lunch, Princess?"

* * *

Right about now, May was cursing the fact that she found it entirely impossible to reject free food. She was currently seated across from the man that she now knew as Steven, in a quaint little cafe back in Dewford. However, his gaze was heavy on her person as she ate. He had left his own food completely untouched, and instead fixed her with a highly amused stare, that had May shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"So, you're challenging the gyms, now?" He finally asked, though his gaze was unwavering. May avoided his sharp eyes.

"Obviously!" She chirped with an eye roll. A silence fell over them again, and May picked up her fork.

"Hmmm… then you'll be challenging Brawly next. Your Shuppet should do well against him, consider fighting moves have no effect on ghost-types." Steven commented offhandedly. May immediately dropped her fork back onto the table, her eye twitching slightly. How did he know she had a Shuppet?!

Suddenly, though, his smile faded, and his eyes became gravely serious. May raised an eyebrow, and trembled as his hand extended towards her neck. Memories flooded her mind of that horrible night in Rustboro tunnel, but Steven's gentle hand only pulled down the high collar of the blouse she was wearing, exposing the bruises on her neck from where she had been choked by the grunt.

"This has been bothering me since I noticed it earlier. I'm assuming you got these from Team Aqua?" He rather stated than asked. May found herself unable to speak, her lips trembling. Steven's eyes narrowed.

"Poor thing…" He said quietly, but May immediately slapped his hand out of the way, drawing the attention of the other patrons to their table.

"I don't need your pity." She said darkly, a shadow having fallen over her face. Something lit up in Steven's gray eyes.

"So then, the question is, what will you do from here on out? Will you take up arms and find a reason to fight the thugs? Will you take the path of revenge? Or… will you avoid them out of fear and protect your life?" He questioned, giving her a wild expression. For a few moments, May stared straight through him, her gaze unseeing.

"When it first happened… I was really scared. I almost lost everything. I wanted to crawl back home and cry my eyes out… but… but...!" She began shakily, and then she slammed a fist down on the table. She fixed him with the fiercest stare he had ever seen.

"Screw that! I've decided. I've had enough being weak. From here on out… anyone who gets in my way… I will _crush_ them! I'm not going to back down anymore. I'm not going to be afraid anymore. Team Aqua… my father… it doesn't matter in the slightest. I will overcome them all! I will be stronger than all of them!" May shouted at the top of her lungs, and she was genuinely surprised when the occupants of the restaurant met her words with applause. Steven grinned amongst the noise.

"Exactly. That's the correct answer."

* * *

"Wow… that was amazing! We were blown away!" Brawley exclaimed as he recalled his fainted Makuhita. May stood proudly on the other end of the arena, her Shuppet hovering betwixt herself and the gym leader. May congratulated her Pokemon with a triumphant smirk, and then she returned Kanato to his pokeball.

"For such a cute little thing, you really pack a punch… well, here's your badge!" Brawley told her, handing the girl the shiny badge that marked her victory in Dewford.

After finally managing to separate herself from Steven the day before, May had spent the rest of her day training Tsubaki and Kanato in the Granite Cave, and she hadn't returned to the Pokemon center until late into the night. Kanato clearly had the advantage over Brawley's fighting-type Pokemon, and after May's intensive training, the victory had been easy.

"Fufufu, but of course! I'm the full package, strong _and_ cute!" May gloated, taking the badge in hand. Brawley chuckled, and the pair parted ways.

As May strutted around town a little while later, she wondered vaguely how she was going to get off this tiny island. However, she decided firmly that that was something to be decided on later — for now, it was time to relax and celebrate! Her excitement was interrupted, however, by a major buzzkill. Her pokenav was ringing, and she reluctantly dug it out of her purse. This time, she read the caller ID before she answered, but the name listed left her in shock.

"How does Steven even have my number?!"


	8. Chapter 8

_(Author's Notes)_

_So, in this chapter, we meet some new faces! Namely, Lisia and Archie. I hope you will enjoy it!_

_Onto reviews~_

_**archnemesisnae: **Thank you, and you definitely should! I would love to read it! And I'm glad you are enjoying the story. =)_

_**lightxhope2124: **Yaay, I'm glad! As for how he got that information... well, Steven's a pretty connected guy, I imagine. ;) And I know right?! I love him too! Steven and Silver are my all time favorite Pokemon guys!_

* * *

"So, the question is, how much do you plan to get involved with this?" Steven's voice resounded in May's head, much to the girl's annoyance. She glared at her pokenav.

"Hah?! You bother calling me just to spout random garbage in my ears?!" May growled, about to hang up the device.

"Actually, I called to ask you if you would deliver the devon parts to the shipyard in Slateport. Oh, and to hear your voice, of course." Steven responded with contentedly, and May could hear his smirk in his tone. She was quiet for a few moments.

"No. Absolutely not. I'm not your father's errand girl!" May huffed angrily. The arrogance of this father and son pair was really getting on her nerves. She'd done them two favors already, and yet they expect her to do more without anything in return? Unbelievable!

"Ahh… but, your aim is for Slateport next, correct? Enlighten me. How do plan on getting there? You are unable to use surf, after all."

"Uh… well…"

"I am quite certain that Mr. Briney, a man who is indeed indebted to my father and this company, would be more than happy to give you a ride to the port town on his boat again. But, of course, only if you agree to deliver the parts for us." Steven reasoned, his voice even. May sighed frustratedly, rubbing at her temple with her free hand.

"Fine, fine, I get it!" May grumped, her brows furrowed. She hated being backed into a corner like this, especially by this guy.

"Wonderful. Mr. Briney already has the parts. I hope that we will meet again soon, Princess."

* * *

"Ah… thank you." May said quietly, as Mr. Briney helped her off his ship and onto the dock in Slateport a few hours later. May had found herself dozing most of the trip, but upon her arrival, it had begun raining rather heavily. May clutched the stem of her pink umbrella a little tighter, as the raindrops fell from the gray sky and scattered around her.

"It's no problem, lass! After all, you did rescue my Peeko." The man commented with a smile, as his Wingull fluttered it's wings happily.

After saying her goodbyes to the old man and his Peeko, May carefully made her way through the wet beach, and into the heart of Slateport. She pulled out her pokenav and activated the map function, as she had no idea how the city was laid out. She figured it would be best to deliver the parts first, before it got dark, and then head to the Pokemon center for some much needed rest. May yawned while she waltzed into the large, lively city, twirling her umbrella idly as she made her way to the shipyard. On her arrival, however, she was told by a very apologetic staff member, that the man she needed to meet with was currently at the museum. He requested that she bring the parts there. May had departed only after the giving the poor staff member an earful to vent her frustration.

May found herself further irked when she arrived at the museum, damp and tired, only to find that she had to pay an entrance fee just to deliver the stupid parts. As soon as she crossed over into the museum's main hall, however, May realized that something was seriously off. The few patrons hanging about looked normal enough, but their behavior seemed weird. None of them were paying any attention to the exhibits — they were clustered in small groups of two or three, staring off at the walls or floor. It was almost like… they were waiting for something. It gave May the creeps, so she hurried up to the second floor, where she was supposed to meet the man who needed the devon parts. The upper floor was largely empty, but she spotted a man gazing at an exhibit towards the back, and she quickly approached him.

"Yo! Are you Stern?" She called, now standing before the older man. The man looked up.

"Ah… yes…"

"I have the devon parts for you." She chirped, glad to finally be wrapping this errand up, as she handed over the parts. She froze, however, when they were interrupted by a throaty chuckle.

"Sorry little girl, but we'll be taking those!" A husky voice called, and May found herself grabbed roughly from behind as someone tried to wrestle the parts from her grasp. May growled and bit down as hard as she could on the man's exposed arm, the tinny taste of blood filling her mouth. The man shrieked and released her, stumbling backwards.

"Crazy bitch!" He yelped, and May turned to face her assailants. As her eyes fell over the two men, she recognized their clothes as Team Aqua's uniform. Then... were those people downstairs grunts as well? Her heart began pounding. They were in her way. It was time to take action.

"Hmm, I like sound of that title! Now… about the parts. You're out of luck! It was a lot of trouble getting them here, so like hell I'm just letting you steal them!" She shouted, giving them a wide, charming smile.

"You're going to pay for that!" The injured man called, clutching his arm. The two released their Pokemon, but their Carvannah and Zubat duo were no match for Tsubaki and Kanato, who surprising fought very well together. May felt emboldened by her victory; she felt like, just maybe, she would be able to leave her weak self behind. This was her time to shine! May grinned.

"Now… if you value your lives, I suggest you get out of here! Quickly, before I change my mind~ Unless, of course... you _want_ to be bitten again?" May shouted, her pokemon hovering over the two defenselessss men menacingly.

"What do we have here?" A deep voice echoed throughout the room. May immediately saw a change in the grunts — they began trembling and exchanged worried glances. When May looked over towards the sound of the voice, she saw a tall, muscular man approaching her with well-timed steps. His eyes were what sent shivers down her spine, though — they were cold and dead; it looked as though they belonged to a corpse. Whoever this man was, his presence was terrifying. He was on a whole different level, she could feel it. However, May refused to cower.

"I came to see what was taking so long, and I find you simps are getting beat up by a _little girl_?" He questioned. His voice was quiet, but there was a threatening tone held within it, that demanded respect. May glared viciously.

"And you are?" She asked pointedly.

"Heh. That's quite a fierce expression for such a wee little scamp." He commented drily, as his gaze shifted to the girl.

"Hah. You're these guys' boss, then? I might take you seriously if you didn't look so ugly." May retorted with a smirk. The man laughed heartily.

"The name is Archie. I created Team Aqua, and unfortunately these idiots are my men. But don't worry, they'll be punished thoroughly for wasting both of our time." He said eventually. So this man… was the one behind everything? Her brows furrowed. Could she really take him on with her current self?

"So, tell me then. What is Team Aqua's goal?" She began, clenching her fists, "Then… I can decide for myself." The man looked thoughtful, as though he were considering her words. Then he smiled cruelly at her.

"To return… return to the unspoiled beginnings of this world. To a time before these disgusting humans. In short… to bring about pure chaos. That is my dream."

"So… that's your answer? Honestly! I didn't expect it to be something so stupid." May said flatly, staring Archie directly in the eyes. He chuckled.

"Haha, what a ballsy lass! For today, we will withdraw. I can see you're no threat to us. But understand this, you pathetic little girl… If I see your face again, I won't hesitate to kill you. In fact, I'm rather looking forward to hearing your screams." He said, his voice cold. May found herself frozen by his words. There was a power that emanated from them, and it chilled May to her core. This man was the real deal. He was bloodthirsty, and merciless, that much she could tell. And such a man… was now her enemy.

May's Pokemon looked towards her for an order, as Archie and his men retreated. But May only hung her head.

"I'm not strong enough yet…"

* * *

Brendan sighed as he made his way through the bustling Slateport city market. It was an overcast day, and after the rain the day before, a light chill had settled over the port city.

Brendan had a lot of things on his mind as he walked. After two battles with Brawly back in Dewford, he still had no badge to show for it, and he had decided to move onto to Slateport out of pure frustration. He had been thinking about it a lot on the way here, but… maybe he wasn't cut out for gyms? But was there really anything else that he could do?

However, more than that, he was immediately concerned for a certain cheeky, pink-clad girl that he couldn't get out of his head. After seeing that bruise on her cheek… and then hearing about her run-in with Team Aqua in Rustboro, he really wondered if she was doing okay. He found himself feeling iritated that May was being so reckless.

"OUTTA THE WAAAAY!" He suddenly heard a voice shout through the crowd, but as he turned to face the commotion, a frilly pink mess collided head on with him, a loud "smack!" sounding out through the market, and the two of them went tumbling to the ground. Brendan groaned as he opened his eyes, and realized with a start that he was now lying on top of the very girl he had just been worrying over. He could feel his cheeks growing red; their faces were so close! He could see her long, sooty lashes knitting together as she blinked up at him, and the way her bright pink lips glimmered as they caught the sunlight, had him momentarily hypnotized. And then, the moment was completely shattered as those big eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"STUPID BRENDAN! GET OFF, YOU PERVERT!" She shouted into his ear, beating on his chest repeatedly with her tiny fists.

"Hey, stop! It's not my fault you ran into me!" He defended himself as he crawled off of her. She jumped to her feet so quickly, that Brendan was left wondering where in Hoenn she got all that energy from.

"Ugh, of course you had to get in my way at time like this!" She shouted angrily.

"Well, you were the one who ran into me…" He mumbled, but May completely ignored him and quickly looked around, shifting her body in all directions.

"Dang it, it's gone!" She whined with a pout.

"What's gone?"

"I was chasing this _really_ cute pink Pokemon! It was adorable! I really wanted to catch it…" May fawned, a loving look in her eyes. Brendan marveled at how much this girl's opinion of Pokemon had changed since their journeys began. May closed her eyes in frustration, and an incredibly awkward (at least on Brendan's part) silence ensued. Then, she cocked one eye open that proceeded to stare at him accusingly.

"So, how are you going to make it up to me?"

"What?! It wasn't my fault!"

"Hmm… maybe you'll treat me to dinner? No, that's not good enough…" May mused, scratching her chin thoughtfully.

"Jeez… and here I was worried about you! You seem fine to me." Brendan complained, and May gave him a startled look.

"Worried…?" She repeated, almost as though she didn't know the word's meaning.

"Well, yeah. You've seemed really beat up lately… not to mention the buzznav was saying you narrowly avoided being murdered by those Aqua guys…" He mumbled, and, suddenly, a shadow fell over May's pretty face.

"… You shouldn't worry about someone like me. I'm not worth it." Her voice was unusually cold as she spoke quietly, almost in a whisper. He couldn't see her expression, but her tone sent shivers down his spine. Suddenly, Brendan's attention was drawn towards two guys shouting towards the edge of the market.

"Huh? Lisia is doing a shoot?! We have to go!" One shouted to the other, and they quickly headed for the contest hall down the street. When Brendan looked back at his companion, she was grinning like normal.

"Sounds like fun! Let's go~" She shouted, before grabbing the poor guy by the hand and dragging him off into the city.

"And so, today, I, Lisia, will be choosing my own protege!" A rather flashy looking girl with bright teal hair was exclaiming as May and Brendan approached the little crowd that had gathered at the entrance to the contest hall. There was a rather elaborate looking crew filming the woman as she spoke.

"Huhu, well if it isn't Wallace's big sister." May commented quietly. Even Brendan could definitely see the resemblance between the two. May knew Lisia well — being the sister of her mentor, May had met the woman a few times. Brendan seemed rather confused. Pokemon contests? He didn't know much about them.

"Hmmm… now then…" Lisia murmured quietly, her gaze shifting around the crowd. She walked up to a few people and examined them closely, but when she came to May and Brendan, she paused. May rolled her eyes. What was Lisia up to this time?

"Ahh! This boy will do nicely!" The woman exclaimed, suddenly grabbing Brendan by the arm and dragging him in front of the camera. Brendan looked entirely shocked, as he glanced around wildly.

"There you have it, everyone, this pathetic looking boy is my new protege! I hope you all will enjoy his transformation!" Lisia shouted into the camera with a little wink. The crowd erupted into cheers. Well, except for May, who was laughing hysterically.

"W-wait! I don't really—" Brendan began, but Lisia clamped a hand over his mouth and leant down to whisper in his ear.

"Now, now, boy, don't think of refusing… after all, I can help you!"

"W-what?"

"That girl you're with? I know her well. You want to have her attention, don't you?"

"Of course no—"

"With an attitude like that, you'll never win her over, boy. After all, there's already three others gunning for affection now… you don't have long. But, I know just how to get that girl's attention!" Lisia explained quietly, as the camera panned the crowd. Three others were interested in May!? How did she even know that? But more importantly… when did _he_ become interested in her? Somehow, he found himself unable to deny it after today, though. Slowly, he nodded. And that was all Lisia needed. She took the teen by the hand, and dragged him inside the contest hall. A few moments later, Brendan found himself sitting in a rather elaborate looking dressing room, with this equally elaborate woman.

"There is only one way to May's heart these days, boy." She related, her hands digging through a make-shift closet. Then, looking satisfied, she removed an outfit and held it up to the mortified teen. "I've had exactly one-hundred proteges before you, boy, but with this, I have confidence one-hundred-and-one will be the last."

"You mean…"

"Yes! We're going to have to give you whole new look! A make-over!"


	9. Chapter 9

_(Author's Notes)_

_Sorry this chapter took a few days, but I've been very sick. :( Anyways, May gets a new Pokemon in this chapter, plus Wallace shows up! I hope you enjoy!_

_Reviews~_

_**lightxhope2124: **Haha I know right?! He's just such an easy target. xD May will definitely have a reaction to his new clothes when she sees him next, though. And May may not believe it yet, but there are definitely people who care about her in this story!_

_**Guest: **I'm glad you like May! :D And don't worry, Wally has an appearance in this chapter, actually~_

_**Goldenfightergirl: **Oh, really? I wasn't aware, actually. I knew they must be related, but I didn't know how haha. I wanted portray Lisia as a little more mature and cunning than she is in the games, hence I made her the older sister. Guess it's a little weird thinking about it, but I think it fits for this story._

* * *

"Nowhere to run now!" May shouted triumphantly to the little pink Pokemon before her. She and her two Pokemon were currently crowded around a Skitty, somewhere on route 110. The air was tense, and May knew the pink Pokemon had been testing her for the last few days. It had first appeared to her in Slateport, where it had taunted her and then fled. It continued doing so several times on her way to Mauville, and each time the Pokemon had evaded her. But, now that she was getting close to Mauville, May had predicted it's next move, and cornered the Skitty with the help of Tsubaki and Kanato. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and then she confidently ordered Tsubaki to attack it. May had decided. If she wanted to get stronger and overcome the obstacles in her way, as much as it scared her, it was time to open her heart up to another Pokemon.

However, the Skitty was stronger than she expected, and it easily dodged Tsubaki's attack, wriggling it's tail back and forth to taunt the trio. May's Grovyle glared harshly in response, and geared up to attack again.

"Wait." May ordered. She had been thinking about it a lot these last few days — this Skitty obviously felt a connection to her as a trainer, so why wouldn't it allow itself to be captured? It obviously wanted to see something before it gave in. May narrowed her eyes.

"You want to know if I'm strong enough, huh?" She asked. The Skitty stared at her fixedly, and her two Pokemon looked rather confused. May held her arms out to each side, staring determinedly at the pink Pokemon.

"Then, come at me! Tsubaki, Kanato, stay out of this. You can tackle me or whatever as much as you want. I'll show you I can withstand it. I can be strong!" May exclaimed confidently, all seriousness. Her two Pokemon shot her worried looks, but May stayed firm. There was a voice in her head screaming out that she was crazy, but May knew that things weren't going to be easy for her if she wanted to keep moving forward. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited.

For a few tense moments, the Skitty glared at her. Then, it started… rolling around in the dirt? And that sound… was it laughing?! May opened her eyes and glared.

"Hey! Don't laugh at me!" She shouted angrily. The Skitty soon stopped at her feet, and looked up into her eyes. Then, it nodded. A wide grin spread across May's face. She had a new partner!

"I think we'll call you… Yui!"

* * *

"Woooow! This place is huge!" May commented excitedly, as she found herself wondering around the enormous indoor city of Mauville later that day. She was dazzled by the vast array of shops and cafes scattered about, as well as the large and colorful advertisements, and throngs of people that filled the city. May had always wanted to live in a big city like this, and even though she was exhausted from a long day of traveling, she couldn't help stopping in at a few clothing boutiques on her way to the Pokemon center.

Using her pokenav as her ever faithful guide, May eventually found her way to the large outdoor courtyard in the center of the city. She stopped in at the pokemart to stock up on a few items, before heading next door to the familiar red-roofed building for a much needed rest. However, upon entering, she ran face first into something firm. Looking up, she could only stare in surprise. A familiar face and a shock of bright teal hair stared down at her with a charming smile.

"Wallace…?" She murmured, but trailed off as his two large hands grasped onto either side of her face. Slowly, his face drew closer to hers, and a moment later, their lips brushed together. May was in such a state of shock, that she simply froze in horror. What was happening?!

"Tsk, tsk. You kept me waiting." He commented with a sly smile. Suddenly regaining mobility, May promptly took two swift steps backwards. Then, she let out a blood curdling scream, turned round, and ran straight out of the Pokemon center as fast as her legs would take her. Wallace was left to blink confusedly at the place where the girl had just been standing.

"Ah, look. You scared her away." Commented a rather annoyed Steven, from a chair nearby.

"Ah, well, I suppose that could have gone better." Wallace commented, though his smirk was highly contradictory to his words. What an interesting protege he had!

* * *

May slowly walked the streets of Mauville in a daze. What the hell had happened back there? Had Wallace just appeared out of nowhere… and kissed her like that? It was unimaginable to her. After all, her mentor had never shown any of that kind of interest in her before, and they had known each other for quite a a few months now. Not to mention… that was her first kiss, wasn't it?

The more May thought about it, the angrier she got. What right did he have to tease her like that? There was no way she would ever believe that man was seriously interested in her. But then… why? What kind of game was he playing? May clenched her fists as her slow pace became heavy stomping, and the look of rage in her eyes sent people scampering to get out of her way.

So, naturally, when May felt someone tug at her sleeve tentatively, she whipped around with the full intention of letting loose all hell on the unsuspecting person.

"WHAT?!"

"Oh! U-umm… I'm s-sorry… I didn't mean to bother you…!" The teen before her hurriedly explained, panic written on his face. Needless to say, when May saw Wally's worried expression, she felt a little guilty. She exhaled heavily to release her emotions a bit, and then sent him her signature smirk.

"Ah, so it's just you, Wally. Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. Not now, at least." May said with a simple shrug. Wally looked incredibly relieved.

"So anyways… what are you doing here? I thought you lived in Verdanturf now."

"O-oh… well, I had to come see your concert, May! I asked my uncle to bring me so I could see you." Wally said with a bright smile. But wait…

"Concert…?" Was there something she was missing? She'd never had a concert before, and she wasn't aware of any happening anytime soon.

"Yeah! U-um, it's all over the buzznav…" Wally explained uncomfortably. May laughed with false bravado.

"Uh, yeah, of course! My concert." May said quietly, inwardly cursing every bit of Wallace's existence. Is that why that bastard was here?! Wally nodded happily, cleary excited at the prospect.

"But… so, anyways… I really want to challenge the gym while I'm here, but my uncle… he w-won't let me… so I was wondering if… m-maybe you could…" He began nervously, his face reddening as he tried to force the words out. May arched an eyebrow impatiently.

"Eh?" She asked. Wally paused, but then looked up at her with a certain determination.

"I… want to show you how far Ralts and I have come! Y-you were the one who brought us together anyways… and then my uncle will see it, too! We're strong now!" Wally explained to her with glimmering eyes. May hesitated, avoiding his gaze. She was pretty sure that if he only had one Pokemon, and it hadn't even evolved yet… this wouldn't be a fair battle.

"P-please, May…!" He begged, clearly desperate. Wally wanted to change his life so badly, and May could see that. A dark look passed over her face.

"Fine, I'll battle you. But I'm warning you right now, I won't hold back." She stated frankly. May wasn't a kind girl, and she certainly wasn't going to baby this guy. If he wanted to experience the world, he was going to have to understand it's harsh nature. This was her way of helping him move forward. Even so, she couldn't help feeling a little sad.

Unfortunately, the battle was short lived, as May had expected. Wally's Ralts fought for it's trainer as hard as it could, but in the end, Tsubaki was able to land a one-hit KO. Wally sighed as they returned their Pokemon. He smiled at her sadly.

"… I should have expected this… We're d-definately not r-ready for gyms…" Wally said quietly, and May could see tears gathering in his eyes. May took a deep breath.

"We both… have a long way to go. But listen to me, because I'm only going to be nice and tell you this once!" May exclaimed, with a cute wink.

"The most important thing I've learned so far, since I left home is… and I know it sounds a little stupid, but… don't ever give up, okay! If we both keep trying… I'm sure that one day, we will be strong. Who knows, maybe you'll even be my rival?" May said with a smirk. Wally brushed away his tears. This girl… was the strongest person he had ever met. He found himself really admiring her.

"I would really… l-like that!"

* * *

"Found you. Again." Steven's voice shocked May out of her reverie, as she sat staring up at the dark sky, from a bench on the rooftop park in Mauville city. Great. So this guy was here too? She looked up at him vacantly. Somehow, seeing Wally working so hard earlier had cheered her up a bit, but she still found herself avoiding Wallace. Steven watched her for a moment, and then came to sit beside her on the bench.

"You said... you're friends with Wallace, right? So you know him pretty well?" May asked tentatively, as she stared up at the black sky, strewn with twinkling stars. Steven looked a little annoyed at her question.

"Do you like him?" He asked pointedly. May puffed out her cheeks in irritation.

"No, of course not! Wallace... is like family to me. He helped me out of a really bad situation. I just want to understand him a bit..." May said quietly, her hands gripping fistfuls of her skirt. Steven sighed.

"Hmm... I've known Wallace for quite a few years now. And even still, it's nearly impossible to decipher his actions, and I don't know much about his past. However, through observation, I've learned a few things about him, and I'll tell you this: whatever he's got planned for you, is highly calculated. He's very serious. I have a feeling... it goes a lot deeper than we think it does, though." Steven answered, watching her reaction carefully. May looked as though she was thinking hard. What could all of this mean?

"I'm curious, though. Are you avoiding Wallace because of what he did, or are you upset that he's pushing you so hard, with the concert and all? I'm sure you've heard about it by now." Steven asked. Night having fallen over the city, the street lamps shone brightly, and very few people passed by them. May gave him a foul look.

"That's none of your business! Why are you even here, anyways?" She shouted, waggling a finger in his face. Without a second thought, he grabbed her wrist with surprisingly fast reflexes.

"To hear you sing, of course. I like you, after all, remember?" He reminded her with a smirk. May could feel the rage burning inside of her at his remark. Between this guy and Wallace's recent behavior, May was really sick of being toyed with. But something occurred to her then… what if she gave them a taste of their own medicine? Determined, May put on a playful smile.

She began to lean in close to him, until their noses brushed. She reached up a gentle hand, and let it graze his cheek. He looked like his usual calm self, but what she hadn't expected was the wild look in his eyes. Could that look mean that he actually…? No, it couldn't be. Wallace and Steven were surely teasing her. She knew that had to be it.

Suddenly a grin spread across her face, and she withdrew. She began to giggle as she watched his blank expression. Had it worked? Did he know how it feels now?

"HA! I would never do something like that. So, you should give up!" May said triumphantly, but as she looked back over at him, she realized he seemed rather strange. As she watched closer, she realized his whole face had gone red, and his eyes looked very confused. Was the usually calm and mysterious Steven Stone... _blushing_?! Suddenly, he began talking so quickly that May couldn't make out what he was saying at all — but he was grinning like an idiot, and looked more excited than she had ever seen him. What was going on here? May was confused, and more than a little unnerved.

"D-did I break Steven?" May mumbled quietly, staring at him. Then, he froze, and slowly seemed to gain his composure. He turned his head downwards so that his hair hid his eyes from view.

"… You may tease me anytime you like, Princess." Was all he said, his voice even now. May stared at him with a raised eyebrow. Somehow… this wasn't the annoyed reaction she had been expecting.

"Besides that, though, we'd best head back to the center. Wallace is waiting to explain to you about the concert." He said, looking over at her. May was bewildered, but at this point she felt like staying out here wasn't a great option, either. So, the two of them headed back to the Pokemon center.

Wallace was waiting for the pair in the Pokemon center's cafe. He smiled broadly and gestured excitedly as they walked in. May immediately shot him her most venomous glare, as they sat down across from him. He continued to smile.

"Steven, I knew you would find her." Wallace commented happily. Steven watched bemusedly as steam practically began to rise from May's head.

"Wallace! WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT ABOUT?!" She yelled, grabbing him by the collar of his skimpy shirt.

"Nevermind that! We have to get you prepared for your concert tomorrow~!" He chirped happily, completely unfazed by her outrage. May froze in horror.

"T-tomorrow…?"


	10. Chapter 10

_(Author's Comments)_

_I can't believe we've made it to chapter ten! I am so happy that you guys seem to be enjoying the story, you're comments really inspire me to keep writing! In this chapter, May takes on another gym. I know she may be on a winning streak now, but don't worry, her share of troubles are coming. ;)_

_Anyways, onto reviews! A few people left multiple reviews on different chapters, so I'm going to try and respond to all of them in one for those. ^^_

_**lightxhope2124: **I'm glad you like it. :) And yeah, I intentionally made Wallace really creepy and weird because, honestly, he came off that way to me in the game haha. Thanks for reviewing!_

_**organizationkhII: **Haha, I'm sorry you think Steven is a creep, but honestly this is just the personality I imagined when playing the game haha! Personally, I adore it, he's totally my type. xD And, yes, I agree! Wallace just seems like such a creep in the game. For that reason alone, I knew I HAD to include him as a major role holder in this story. He's just too entertaining!_

_**Autumn-trot: **I'm really glad you're enjoying the story! I actually haven't read any other ORAS fanfics, so I didn't really know that most people preferred Torchic for May. For me, though, Treeko was the obvious choice. I just love Sceptile! And I'm very glad you like May's character, she is really fun to write haha~_

* * *

The sun was bright in her eyes, as May stepped up onto the stage. Everything seemed to slow down, and she found herself looking out over the crowd that had gathered to hear her perform. She felt like she couldn't hear anything; like she was on the outside looking in. The bright lights seemed to blur together, and not a single sound could pierce the bubble of calm around her. May had been training for this all her life.

This moment had been May's dream ever since she was a little girl. She distantly remembered how her Mother had eagerly cheered her on, as she sang loudly at the dinner table every night when she was a child. May, however, also remembered how hard it had been to get to this point; how much of a struggle it had been to get away from her Father and pursue her dreams. But, yet, here she was, facing the crowd with pride in her heart. May smiled.

Wallace had been right — the crowd was small; by her estimation, there were about thirty or so people in attendance. Considering the concert had been so impromptu, and that May wasn't a particularly popular artist at this point, it was a good turn out, she felt. May found herself breathless at the very thought that these people, _these very people,_ had all come out to hear _her_ sing — it was an exhilarating feeling pumping into her veins as the crowd cheered her on.

And just like that, the bubble burst. A myriad of sounds and sights bombarded her senses, but rather than being overwhelmed, May found herself bursting with an energy that redoubled that of the crowd. She jumped into the air with a delicate hand raised up high. May winked cutely, and greeted those in attendance exuberantly.

"ARE YOU READY?! Let's goooo~"

* * *

"Well, how do you think she did?" Wallace questioned Steven perkily, as the concert came to a close. Both men had opted to watch the concert from a monitor in the small backstage area, rather than mix with the crowds outside. This was largely because both men were quite, well, _infamous_ around Hoenn — though in completely different circles, naturally.

"Hmm…" Steven mumbled, but he didn't seem particularly inclined to answer his friend any further, as May's figure darted off the stage, and she walked into the room, clearly exhausted.

"And there she is!" Wallace greeted happily, running up to the girl. "You did a splendid job, dear!" He exclaimed, grabbing both of her hands in his own. May smirked.

"Heh. Was there ever any doubt?" She commented smugly, quickly wrenching her hands away from him. Though her words were confident, the crazy night before was still fresh in their minds. Wallace and May had been up nearly all night prepping for the concert, though you wouldn't know it by looking at either of the peppy duo that morning.

"Well, there _was_ that one point where you missed that _particular_ note, and of course, you _almost_ tripped that one time, though it was hardly noticeable I promise. Still, very good first try!" Wallace chirped happily, and May shot him a glare. That was how Wallace always was though, and she knew it all too well. He was always highly critical, especially of her, it seemed, though somehow he always managed to say it with the sweetest of smiles. May sighed in exhaustion as Steven approached the pair.

"So what will you be up to now? I'm assuming you'll need some rest before—" Steven began, but May interrupted him with a playful grin, and a hand placed on her hip.

"No rest for the wicked! I'm off to the gym now. I have to leave Mauville early tomorrow morning, anyways." May explained, picking up her bag from the table behind the two guys. She then waved them off and disappeared into the changing area to prepare for the gym.

"Later, losers!" She called over her shoulder. Wallace chuckled.

"She has really come a long way since I first met her." He commented, and Steven arched an eyebrow at his comment.

"Has she changed a lot?"

"Well, not personality-wise. But she was very broken when I first met her, to the point that I was worried that any of this would come to fruition… but things are moving smoothly now!"

* * *

May yawned absentmindedly, as the glass doors to the Mauville city gym slid open before her. She passed through a reception area, where she showed her ID, and then the girl was ushered into the next room. She entered into a small, dark room, that was illuminated only by bright, electric currents that were steady enough to block her path. May found herself momentarily hypnotized by the pulsating red and blue lights that flashed before her. She smiled faintly.

"Hah. Doesn't that seem a bit dangerous? Lucky I'm not dumb enough to fall into it!" May snickered, but she quickly shook her head and approached what looked to be the only official trainer in the room. He demanded a battle before he gave her any explanation, which of course was to be expected, and so May obliged. The battle was relatively quick, and May being the victor, she was awarded with information on how the gym worked.

"There are switches located in different places on the floors, find the right order to flip them in, and you'll progress to the next room!" He explained.

"So some of the gyms actually have puzzles? Cool, I guess." May commented with amusement in her eyes. Looking around, the red and blue switches were easy enough to locate, even in the dark, and May's first guess turned out to be the correct order. May smiled as the flickering electricity made a loud "Bzzzt!" sound, and popped out of existence. She then followed a small staircase up to the next room.

The next room proved to be a little more complicated, but very much more of the same. May navigated her way through the sort of electric maze, battling a handful of trainers with her newly-caught Skitty along the way. Before long, May found herself scaling another small staircase, but as she entered into the final area, she was greeted with a loud, booming laughter. An old man dressed in a rather tacky shirt, that made May's fashion senses cringe, stood at the other end of the room, smiling at her cheerfully.

"_This_ guy is… the gym leader?" May deadpanned as she approached. She was looking forward to defeating this silly old man.

"What? You say you got through all my rigged doors?! Wahaha, how amusing!" The man practically yelled in her face. May rolled her eyes. She was too exhausted to deal with this guy's energy.

"Yeah, yeah, gramps. Ready for a fight?" May proposed with a smirk, as she crossed her arms beneath her chest. Watson laughed merrily.

"Then I, Wattson, the leader of the Mauville city gym, shall electrify you!" He called back to her, and promptly sent out his Magnemite. Glancing down at her Pokedex, May could see that the opponent was at level nineteen — nothing her freshly healed level twenty Skitty couldn't handle, she thought. May had been very impressed with Yui's fighting abilities that day; the Pokemon may have been cute, which is what initially attracted May, but it had clearly seen it's fair share of battles.

May wanted to play it safe, so she opened with a sing attack, and Yui's melodic voice lulled Wattson's magnetite to sleep. A couple of tackle and doubleslaps later, the Magnemite was down, and the old man released his next Pokemon; a level nineteen Voltorb. This time, the sing attack May ordered seemed to miss it's mark, and the Voltorb took the opportunity to charge it's energy. From there, Yui managed to land two doubleslaps, which did signficant damage, but eventually she succumbed to the Voltorb's charged electric shocks. Next, May released Kanato, and with a quck shadow sneak the Voltorb was finished. Wattson's next Pokemon was most certainly his strongest — a Magneton. It's three, dead-like eyes stared blankly at May and Kanato from across the battlefield, but May only felt exhilarated.

"Kanato, quick, feint attack!" May ordered confidently, and her Pokemon obeyed with speed. He approached the enemy, but quickly threw a sucker punch and hit the confused Magneton head on. The attack did significant damage, and a smirk curved it's way across May's freshly glossed lips. Wattson responded with a supersonic attack, but Kanato was too quick and evaded the move. One more fierce attack from Kanato, and May left Wattson's Magneton in the red, but this time, the opponents supersonic attack hit, and Kanato was left seeing double and stumbling around wildly. May bit her lip. Kanato just needed to land one more shadow sneak, and the battle would be theirs! She knew that Tsubaki's grass-type attacks would do little against a Magneton, but she was sure that victory was hers nonetheless.

"Kanato, listen to me, and focus as hard as you can! Just concentrate on those eyes, and you can hit it!" May ordered her Pokemon. Kanato looked up at her blearily, but nodded as his large eyes crossed. May's confidence encouraged the shuppet, and he peered through veils of confusion to gaze upon his opponent as accurately as possible. Then, he sucked in a deep breath and sent his shadows to do his bidding with a fierce shadow sneak attack. The Magneton floated weakly across the field, charging up for another attack.

May pumped a fist into the air excitedly, as the inky black shadows latched onto the Magneton's limbs against all odds, sending it's health bar into the negatives. With his last Pokemon defeated, the victory went to May.

"Wahaha! Fine, looks like I lost!" The old man practically cheered, and May found herself even further exhausted by the man's continued exuberance. Wattson happily handed May the Dynamo badge, and the girl couldn't help but smile as Kanato jumped into her arms.

* * *

By the time May left the gym, night had fallen over Mauville, and bright flouresant lights burned into her eyes as she waltzed through the indoor city. She planned to immediately head to the Pokemon center for some much needed rest, but a flash of blue caught her attention as she passed the northern exit of the city. Looking over, May noticed a small group of Team Aqua grunts talking quietly amongst themselves. On instinct, she snook in a little closer and hid inside the door of a nearby shop.

"So, next up, we're meeting the others at Mt. Chimney." A man told the two women he was with. One of the girls nodded.

"It's going to be a long walk along route 112 to get there." She commented drily. The other woman looked thoughtful.

"And the other group is getting the meteorite from that idiot in Fallarbor, right?" She asked quizzically. The other two nodded in affirmation.

"Well, we'd better head out then. We have to get to Mt. Chimney before daybreak." The man explained to his group, and after that, they made their leave of the city.

May stayed hidden for a few moments longer, her indecisiveness bothering her. She had already made a stand against Team Aqua… but were they really worth fighting, if she was risking not only her life, but her Pokemon's? She had fought them before because they antagonized her… but this was different. All that said, May hated backing down. That Archie guy and his minions really boiled her blood, and even though she didn't really know what she was fighting them for, she had the burning desire to beat them into submission. Either way, she needed to make a stance for her future. May clenched her fists as she left the store, and headed for the Pokemon center. Nothing could be decided until she got some sleep.

Wallace greeted her as she healed her Pokemon at the front desk. Apparently, Steven had been called off earlier for some kind of "duty" he had to attend to, but May didn't really care to question Wallace further on the subject. Wallace congratulated her on her victory over Wattson, and seemed eager to chat with her more. However, May tiredly excused herself, and headed back to her room for the night. As parting words, Wallace gave her this:

"May, dear, I trust that you will make the right decision…"


	11. Chapter 11

_(Author's Notes)_

_So, this chapter focuses mostly on Brendan! But don't worry, we'll be getting some major Team Aqua action in chapter twelve. =)_

_Reviews~_

_**organizationkhII: **That's very true haha! And yes, I adore Steven as well. :) I agree, his Metagross is pretty amazing! I just finished beating the elite four for the second time, and I was really lucky my Banette did so well against it._

_**Autumn-trot: **Oh okay, that makes sense, I do remember that. And yes, absolutely!_

_**archnemesisnae: **I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm really excited to write their relationship as it grows; the next chapter will be a pretty big moment for them, hehe!_

_**lightxhope2124: **Not quite in this chapter, but definitely in the next! And don't worry, this chapter stars Brendan, so hopefully you're questions are answered. :) Thank you!_

_**alemery: **She definitely will be very soon!_

* * *

A few hours into her walk to Mt. Chimney that morning, May took a rest in a shady cove by the side of the path, in order to heal up her Pokemon and hydrate herself.

"Hah. Those Winstrates were a bunch of losers." May commented idly, as she took a sip from her pink thermos. Earlier that morning, after leaving Mauville, May had encountered a family of career trainers who were taking on challengers in their home, and a large prize was offered to any one who could beat all of the family's members. Naturally, May had taken on the challenge. She had emerged victorious, but only Tsubaki was left standing by the time she finished the last battle. Still, a victory was a victory, and such things only stood to bolster May's significant confidence.

As her thoughts drifted to her destination, however, May's smile faded. She hadn't made an official decision to take on Team Aqua just yet, but she wanted to at least see what was happening at Mt. Chimney. She knew she had to do at least that much. But… the question was, if a fight did break out, were she and her three Pokemon prepared for the possible consequences? May quickly shook her head to rid herself of her negativity. She reached into her bag and retrieved her compact, quickly re-applying her lip gloss before tossing everything back into her back and heading back out onto the road.

By early afternoon, May found herself at the base of Mt. Chimney, but unfortunately the cable car that went up to the top appeared to be out of order, not to mention the path through the mountain was completely blocked off by large boulders. After an hour or so of snooping around to no avail, May concluded with satisfaction that Team Aqua didn't even seem to be here, so she made her way back down the path to re-group. Looking at her map, May could see that there was no way to reach Lavaridge city until the path was cleared, so… where should she head next? May pouted. How annoying!

Suddenly, the girl was startled from her pity party, as her pokenav sprang to life. By now, May had learned that she really couldn't predict who would be calling her these days, so her eyes quickly scanned the caller ID.

"Brendan?" May questioned as she answered. At this point, she was getting a little tired of guys somehow managing to find her number without asking.

"Ah, yes! How are you, May?" His familiar voice resounded in her ear.

"Fine, I guess. I'm assuming you want something?" May questioned apathetically. Brendan laughed.

"Well, I was wondering where you were headed? You've left Mauville by now, I would think…" He asked. And was that a hint of uneasiness in his voice? May lifted a brow; what was he up to?

"Well, I'm actually heading up to Fallarbor right now. I was, uh, thinking you were heading there next?"

"Why would I?" May asked flatly. If memory served, there wasn't even a gym there, and it would be way out of her way. Suddenly, there was a strange shuffling sound, and another all too familiar voice came through the device.

"May, what this fool is _trying_ to say, is that you need to come see him in the Pokemon Spectacular! That's why we're heading to—" Lisia began, but Brendan quickly wrenched the pokenav away from her.

"Uh… I'm actually going to check on a meteorite one of my Dad's, er, I mean, Professor Birch's, research buddies found… but I guess there's a contest there, too… if you wanted to…" Brendan mumbled. How the hell had Lisia dragged him into all of this? It was so embarrassing for Brendan! And besides that, there was no way May would come all the way out to Fallarbor just to see him, he knew that much.

May wasn't very interested in Brendan or the Pokemon contests, but what had caught her attention, was the word "meteorite". Thinking about it, hadn't those grunts she'd spotted in Mauville mentioned something about that? But it didn't really have anything to do with her, right…?

"Maybe I _will_ come!" May found herself saying a few moments later. She honestly couldn't imagine why she was agreeing to this… but, there was a feeling of uneasiness in her stomach that urged her on. It couldn't be… but... maybe she was worried about Lisia and Brendan?

"Just don't hold your breath on me watching that contest or anything." May added with an all too cheerful smile.

* * *

One night and a day and a half later, May found herself stumbling into the old farming town of Fallarbor, covered in ash and thoroughly exhausted. The road to Fallarbor had been long and arduous, and about halfway through, when she found herself spending another night by the side of the road, she began regretting her decision. But, by that time, it was far too late to turn back, and now all May was clinging to, was the hope that the sooty ashes hadn't stained her clothes.

May hobbled into the Pokemon center in a sorry state, and quickly got herself a room. She promptly took a shower, and was rather proud of the fact that it only took half an hour to do her hair and make-up. Then, she headed over to one Professor Cozmo's house, where apparently Brendan, and the meteorite, were staying. It took her a while of wondering around aimlessly before she found the house, but when she did, May had absolutely no hesitation and knocked upon the door immediately. She decided to completely disregard the fact that she was supposed to have met Brendan and the professor a full two hours before.

However, before her hand could even touch the wooden surface, the door sprang inwards and flew open. A rather annoyed Lisia stood in the entryway, a frown pressed to her lips as she toyed with her teal hair.

"You're late."

"Fashionably so, of course." May responded with, smirking as she breezed passed the woman and entered the house. The living room was decorated sparsely; only the necessary furniture had been placed about, the walls were a cool grey and the overall attitude was a bit… depressing. Clearly, this was the home of someone who's sole focus was his work. May sighed as her eyes fell over the two figures seated at the small couch, but what met her eyes certainly gave her pause.

There was one very tall and slim man, who was clearly the professor Cozmo she had heard about, but beside him, was a figure that left her mouth agape. Was that guy… _Brendan_?! May couldn't believe it. She swiftly came closer, facing him head on as her eyes scanned his body. Lisia watched her from the sidelines, her expression that of a predator that had just locked onto her prey.

Conversing with the professor before her, sat a completely transformed male. Brendan was dressed to the nines; gone were his sporty clothes and strange hat, which were replaced with tight black jeans and a studded belt, along with a custom-made jacket fit with studs, cuffs, and a certain rock-star flair. His brown hair, which she hadn't really seen much of before, was styled impeccably and fit with a red and yellow streak.

"Oh! You're here, May." He said with a casual smile. May completely ignored him though, and promptly began lifting up his shirt.

"W-what are you…?" Brendan stuttered, his face flushed as her fingertips grazed his skin. He realized quickly, however, that May wasn't interested in him. She appeared to be examining the seam finishes on his shirt.

"Ahh… it's sewn well, too! This stitch is perfect! It must be a brand name… maybe…? No, it has to be another one…" May mumbled excitedly, as she examined his clothes. The professor beside them looked more than a little concerned. To make his embarrassment worse, Lisia stood a ways behind May, giving him a perky thumbs up and a little wink.

Suddenly, May removed her hands from his person and gave him a skeptical look.

"What is this for?" She asked almost sternly. That was so like her — she didn't even bother with saying hello, and now she's demanding things! Ah, but… he realized with a start that May's face was awful close to his. This wasn't good…!

"Why, it's for the contest spectacular, of course! My apprentice here will be performing tonight, after all." Lisia chimed in happily. May withdrew from Brendan a bit, looking contemplative. Brendan let out a relieved breath, his cheeks still flaming.

"So… people usually dress up for that?!" May suddenly exclaimed, her eyes glittering with excitement. Brendan nodded, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah, I guess they do."

"Hmmm… I might just grace you with my presence tonight, then!"

* * *

"Woooow…" May found herself murmuring as she watched the contestants take the stage later that night. The theater itself was beautiful, and quite large — the soaring ceilings and opera house-like seating left an overwhelming impression. The first part of the show consisted of each contestant taking the stage in an attempt to appeal to the crowd, and capture their hearts — as well as their applause, of course. May was astounded by the outfits that both the contestants and Pokemon had donned for the event; they were elaborate and delicate, and each seemed to hold it's own special theme.

However, when Brendan took the stage as the final contestant, May noticed a change in the audience. Their was a tense sense of anticipation floating around in the air. As he reached the center of the stage, fireworks went off at the sides of the platform, and wild colors filled the contest hall. A wide, confident smirk spread across Brendan's handsome face as he pumped a fist into the air, his Combusken dancing wildly at his side, spewing fire in a fantastical medley. The crowd went into a wild frenzy of cheering and yelling, and May was left to watch the spectacle with mild amusement. This guy… had changed a lot since she met him, May felt. And that night, was the first time that May really noticed Brendan.

* * *

May had been told to meet Brendan and Lisia backstage after the show, so that the trio could head back to the Professor's place together. May hadn't had a chance to talk to Cozmo earlier, as the man had business to attend to out of town, and had hurriedly excused himself soon after her arrival. However, as she emerged from the thicket of people heading for the exit to the hall, and into the backstage area, May noticed Brendan surrounded by a couple of excited girls.

"Ahh, that was your best performance yet, Brendan!"

"No wonder you won so easily!"

"And the way you handled Combusken… it was amazing to watch! Another win!" The girls gushed, and May had to bite her lip to keep herself from bursting out into laughter at Brendan's uncomfortable expression. It was a little strange to watch though, she had to admit. When Brendan noticed May, he quickly spoke up.

"Ah, thank you, but, um, excuse me…" He muttered with a nervous laugh. He brushed passed the girls and made a b-line for May. He grabbed the girl by the hand and quickly led her outside. May could feel the venomous glares of Brendan's newfound fangirls as they left the room. Brendan's hand was wrapped tightly around her wrist, and he didn't seem inclined to release her. May arched an eyebrow. He seemed a little… nervous? He had just won, why wasn't he more confident or excited?

"So… u-umm, did you enjoy the show?" He asked quietly as they parted through the crowd and left the contest hall.

"Where's Lisia?" May asked, purposely avoiding the question. She chuckled at his worried look. Was he really worried that much about what she thought? She found it a little annoying, but also highly amusing. Brendan sighed. What a cruel girl she was!

"She headed back first, apparently there was some show she wanted to catch before bed." He commented drily.

"I…" May's sentence died in her throat as they approached the professor's house. One of the front windows had been shattered, and they worriedly entered the house, clearly on guard with their Pokemon at the ready. The house was dark, but as May flipped on the lights in the living room, the pair noticed Lisia slumped over on the couch, and the room appeared to have been ransacked. May quickly ran through the house to make sure no one was still there, while Brendan examined Lisia. She appeared to have a wound on her head, but was still conscious.

"I think… they took the professor…" Lisia mumbled tiredly, as Brendan called for a doctor. May re-entered the living room with a frown.

"Team Aqua…" She growled as she approached the pair. May had had enough of these guys. It was time for action.

"Do you know where they went?" May asked Lisia pointedly. Lisia blinked in thought.

"I think they said… Meteor Falls… but you shouldn't…!"

"Make sure she's taken care of." Was all May said to Brendan, before she grabbed her bag off the table and headed out into the night.


	12. Chapter 12

_(Author's Notes)_

_Welcome to chapter twelve! I do apologize that this chapter took so long to get out, but unfortunately school has started up again, so writing time is scarce. :( Anyways, this chapter starts off pretty dark, but it gets really fluffy towards the end! Enjoy~_

_Reviews!_

_**lightxhope2124: **I feel kinda bad, but as soon as I created Brendan's character, I knew I'd end up picking on him a lot. xD Poor guy! And yaaay, thank you!_

_**organizationkhII: **Haha! And the update is finally here! Sorry it took so long. ;_;_

* * *

Shelly grit her teeth, as she glared at the man that opposed her and her grunts. Things had gone smoothly at the start; a small team of grunts had broken into Cozmo's home earlier that evening, and no one had been able to prevent them from retrieving the professor and his prized meteorite. Afterwards, they had met up with herself and the rest of the group, here in Meteor Falls. However, _this _man had shown up not too long after their reunion. The Hoenn region champion had been a thorn in Team Aqua's side since day one, but, that was to be expected, Shelly, the Team Aqua admin, supposed. A shiver ran down her spine as the cave's chilly air seeped into her clothes. She smirked and placed a hand on her hip, her free hand toying with a few strands of her dark hair. She couldn't back down now. If they could combine the massive energy of the meteorite with the energy at Mt. Chimney, Team Aqua would be one step closer to achieving Archie's ideal world!

"You really think you can take on all of us, Steven?" Shelly mused menacingly. The cave was dark and damp, but even Steven could see the glittering eyes of the horde of grunts stationed around the cave. They glowered at him from every nook and cranny of the large area, clearly antsy for a fight as they watched his every move, like starving animals. He spotted the Professor in their midst, looking absolutely terrified. Steven was unamused, but certainly not worried in the slightest. He'd been trying to find information on these guys for weeks now, and the first tip he got had led him here. As champion, he felt it his duty to deal with the threats facing the Hoenn region, and Team Aqua had just become number one on his list. He reached for his pokeball, but both parties paused when a sound interrupted them.

"Where the hell are you, Team Aqua bastards?!" Someone was yelling near the entrance to the dimly lit cavern. Steven's blood immediately ran cold — _he knew that voice_! How did she even know about this? He knew immediately that the situation had just become troublesome, and he didn't want May to get hurt. Soon enough, though, the familiar pink-clad girl came rushing into their midst, ready to kick butt and take names. May squinted through the darkness as she peered around the cavern, her eyes taking in the large volume of grunts, and her face looking highly unimpressed.

"May? What are you doing here?" Steven called from across the way. May's attention settled on him then, and she recognized that Steven was standing on a platform a little ways away from her, a short set of crude, stone steps separating them. She could see that this area was pretty high up; it rose out of the surrounding area by several feet, and the sides were flanked by shallow areas of clear, glistening water and bright rocks that glowed in the darkness. May shrugged.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." She grumbled. The momentary look of panic that crossed Steven's face, though, told Shelly everything she needed to know. She whispered in a nearby grunt's ear, and the female grunt quickly took to the shadows and approached May from behind. As May placed a foot on the bottom step, she felt something cold against her throat, and a presence grabbed onto her. May realized with a start that she was being held at knife-point, and her eyes narrowed. She inwardly cursed herself for being so careless; May hadn't even noticed the grunt approach her. She clenched her fists.

"I don't know what this _toy _is to you, Steven, but if you don't want her to die, I suggest you leave here peaceably." Shelly called with a devious grin. She knew this must have been the girl that had meddled with their plans before. Two birds with one stone! Steven glared at her. This wasn't good, he had to get May out of here safely! It was a strange feeling for him to be so worried over someone, but ever since he'd met her, he had been unable to get May out of his head.

May, on the other hand, was completely fed up and determined to get some revenge on these guys. She began struggling against her captor; biting, kicking, clawing and twisting in an attempt to get out of the woman's grasp. She knew they needed her alive to threaten Steven, though she hardly expected the silver haired man to heed these villains for her sake.

"Are you crazy?! Quit squirming or I'll carve off a piece of that pretty face!" The grunt growled into her ear. May tried to reach her bag in order to get her Pokemon, but found the bag missing. She would have to deal with this herself.

May let out a fierce growl and used all her weight to tip the woman off balance, then, she elbowed the grunt so hard that the two of them were sent tumbling down over the edge of the platform and down onto the rocks below.

* * *

The sudden sensation of falling startled May, as she and the grunt tumbled heavily over the ledge. Had she pushed too hard? She could hear Steven calling her name in the background. It was a sheer drop to the shallow water below, and as soon as her body hit the rocky floor beneath the water, she knew she was in a bad situation. Upon impact, she felt something bad in her ankle twist, and her face was momentarily submerged beneath the clear water. She gasped for air as she hurriedly sat up, her whole body aching, and the chilly air seeping into her wet clothes. Looking down, she could see her body was covered in cuts from the rocky tumble; but the worst was just below her knee, and the painful gash was bleeding pretty badly.

Her senses quickly returning, May glanced around wildly to locate her adversary. The grunt was on her hands and knees, crawling over to where the knife had fallen. May knew she had to act quickly. She reached for her bag, where her pokemon lay, but realized quickly that she must have dropped it when the grunt pulled the knife on her. She was on her own.

May hurriedly got to her feet, but it was made clear to her that her ankle was injured, as her whole body ached and shook with adrenaline. Pain shot out from her ankle and up her leg, but May ignored the feeling and charged the also injured grunt. She threw all her weight into the woman, practically body slamming her, and the two tumbled and splashed through the water, each struggling for dominance over the other.

May was no match for the trained grunt in physical strength, though, and she soon found the grunt on top of her, strong hands holding her head under the water. May couldn't breathe, and her whole body was desperate for oxygen, as she clawed at the woman's hands. As her vision began to blacken, May's hands searched the rocky surface around her for anything she could use as leverage to get this grunt off of her. A fuse blew in her mind when her right hand clasped around a large, loose rock. She used every last bit of her strength to lift the rock and plunge it into the grunt's skull. The woman screamed in pain and slumped over, clearly unconscious.

May gulped in air, her breaths heavy as she stumbled to her feet. Her whole body coursed with pain, and she felt dizzy, but she knew she needed to get back up there as soon as possible. From her vantage point, she could see Steven and some sort of large, white Pokemon facing down a horde of Mightyena. She needed to get to her Pokemon and help beat those idiots!

May hobbled over to the daunting cliff that rose up above, and she began to climb. Her ankle pulsed with pain, but it's protest didn't shake her, even though she knew she was probably injuring it further. When she finally clambered over the edge and onto the platform, her body collapsed from exhaustion. She took a deep breath, and pushed it just a little further. She crawled over to where her bag lay, glad that the grunts were currently occupied by Steven a ways away. She quickly rummaged through her bag and located her three pokeballs. A moment later, Yui, Tsubaki, and Kanato stared up at their trainer with worried expressions. May could feel her consciousness fading as she looked at them with a wry smile.

"Go… kick their butts! Don't let Steven… get all the glory…" She mumbled before collapsing to the ground. Yui worriedly shook her trainer with a tiny paw, but received no response. The three seemed to have a quick conversation before they nodded in agreement. Tsubaki and Kanato hurried off to the battlefield, while Yui remained behind to guard their trainer.

* * *

May slowly became aware of a gentle pressure on her cheek, and as her senses began to return to her, she could hear someone speaking to her soothingly.

"… May, can you here me?" Steven's concerned voice finally reached her ears. Her eyes fluttered open, and she could see his face hovering above hers, a hand on her cheek and his silver hair brushing against her forehead. May shook her head, trying to remember what had happened. Oh… right. She fell, and then…

"Good, you're awake." Steven commented with a sigh of relief. He withdrew from her vicinity and began searching through a nearby bag that appeared to be his. May could see now that she appeared to be propped against a rough, rocky wall, that stood in a small chamber. She concluded that they must have still been in Meteor falls, judging by the glowing stones and crystal clear pools of water that abounded.

"We need to get your injuries treated." Steven stated, withdrawing a first aid kit from his bag. Now that she thought about it, her ankle _was_ hurting pretty badly, and looking down at herself, she could see a large gash in her leg, not to mentionn numerous small cuts and bruises all over her body. As Steven began to treat her wounds, May began questioning him.

"What happened? Is Team Aqua gone? My Pokemon…"

"Are fine. Need to visit a Pokemon center soon, but they're okay. And Team Aqua is gone, yes." Steven explained. He specifically left out the part where he had left the task of pummeling Team Aqua up to his back-up, Team Magma, who had arrived rather late, whilst he got her to safety. Maxie had just notified him that a few key members of their adversary had escaped their siege and headed for Mt. Chimney with both the Professor and his meteorite. Steven sighed as he wrapped up May's ankle to prevent further injury. Her skin was cold to the touch, and he could feel her body trembling from the chill of the cave. It was no wonder, she was soaking wet, after all.

"I hope you have a change of clothes… we'll have to spend the rest of the night here." He commented. May immediately shot him a dirty look.

"_Excuse me_? I am not staying the night in this dump! And besides that, it's obvious neither of us brought anything to stay the night. We don't even have blankets or make-up remover! I'll just head back now." May shouted with a huff. Steven gave her a bemused smile.

"Oh? Are you able to walk now?"

"…"

"Not to mention, a heavy storm has brewed up on route 114. There's no way we could make it back with you this injured and wet, until morning at least." Steven explained, watching her carefully.

"…"

"GREAT!" May shouted, burying her face into her knees. She felt terrible, not to mention her wet clothes stuck to her body oddly, and she couldn't stop shivering. Suddenly, she became aware of something falling over her and blocking her vision. Peeking out from under it, she realized Steven had tossed his white dress shirt and suit jacket over her, and he was now sitting across from her, completely shirtless. May could feel her cheeks burning as she stared at his bare skin. For a skinny rich guy, she begrudgingly had to admit that he was in pretty good shape.

"Change into that." He said, smiling at her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Don't strip in front of me! And besides that… aren't you going to be cold now?!" May complained irately. She was beginning to think this guy was some kind of masochist. Steven gave her a smirk, but it quickly faded.

"I'm more concerned about you. You're really injured, after all…" He mumbled, he couldn't help feeling guilty — he should have been able to protect her.

"Hmph, fine! Suit yourself. But don't think I'll give it back to you even if you freeze to death."

"…"

"TURN AROUND, PERVERT!" May shouted yet again, and Steven immediately obeyed the yelling girl and faced his back towards her, instead turning his attention to a nearby cluster of glittering rocks that particularly caught his interest. May quickly removed her wet clothes, careful to keep an eye on Steven, in order to make sure he didn't try to sneak a peek. Not that she really thought he would, though; she figured he was all talk. May felt a little strange as she buttoned up his white shirt and slipped the jacket over her shoulders; she had never worn men's clothes before, after all. She was relieved to see that the shirt and jacket combo were long enough on her to cover everything nicely, not to mention the sleeves slipped over her hands completely. She sighed, but as she inhaled, she noticed an interesting scent. Pulling the jacket a little closer to her face, she gave it a good sniff. It smelled like… old books and antiques, or something. He had mentioned he liked rocks, hadn't he? Maybe he did a lot research or something.

Suddenly, May felt the weight of someone's gaze, and looking up, she saw Steven staring at her intently, an enchanted look in his eyes. Caught red-handed, her face flushed.

"I-I wasn't doing anything weird! Shut up!" May shouted at the top of her lungs. Steven chuckled lightly and muttered something about "cute" and "irresistible" under his breath. May didn't catch it, however, and she sat down quickly, glad to be out of her wet clothes at least. Steven sat down beside her, and though he tried to hide it, May could see the cold was getting to him. She fervently reminded herself, however, that that was not her problem.

"So… you fended those Aqua guys off by yourself? You only seemed to have one Pokemon with you. Though I guess mine helped, too…" May wondered aloud. Steven looked thoughtful.

"I was at a disadvantage, certainly, as the remainder of my team is resting back at Ever Grande after a recent rough challenge. But, even so, my Metagross is stronger than you might think. And your Pokemon fought very valiantly to protect their trainer, though they were a little lost without you." He told her with a smirk.

"Ever Grande, huh? That place sounds familiar…" May muttered.

"Ah, are you finally figuring it out?" He questioned curiously, and May responded with a dubious look.

"Figuring _what_ out?" She asked quizzically. Steven laughed. A silence fell over them, but May was the first to break it.

"So… the meteorite, and Cozmo?"

"Team Aqua managed to escape with both of them. I'm sure they needed the Professor to explain the details of his research on the meteorite. My back-up forced them to surrender, but a few escaped."

"Back-up?"

"Team Magma." Steven said, and May looked rather confused. Who was that? Were they associated with Team Aqua? At May's confused look, Steven explained further.

"Team Magma is a group that cropped up a few years ago, and much like their Aqua counterparts, they started some trouble back then. But that was then, now they've offered their help in bringing down this new nuisance. So far, they've been pretty helpful, although Team Aqua is on a much larger scale as far as members than they ever were." He explained quietly. May could see there was certainly a story in here somewhere, but she decided not to press it further. She began feeling very frustrated. Wasn't there something she could be doing?! She needed to get to Mt. Chimney immediately! Steven sighed as she clenched her fists around her knees.

"There's nothing that can be done for now. You should get some sleep." He commented, leaning against the cold stone wall. May pouted, but eventually relented and laid herself down on the floor. It was not going to be a comfortable night, she knew, and it didn't help that Steven kept staring at her while she tried to sleep. She thought he was regretting giving her his clothes, but looking over at him, he just looked really worried. Eventually, after he thought her asleep, May heard Steven lay down on the floor, and carefully cracking one eye open, she saw that he had closed his eyes. She could see he was shivering uncontrollably… it was pretty cold, after all. She pulled his jacket closer to her, and tried to forget that he was even there. However, his smell lingered in her nostrils, and she began to feel an uneasy sensation in her stomach. Another half hour passed before she finally gave in.

May got up on all fours with a frustrated breath, and she crawled along the rocky floor and over to Steven, careful not to bump her ankle or put any weight on it. He gave her an odd look, but May swallowed her pride and curled up next to him, burying her face into his chest so he wouldn't see her blushing. This was _so_ embarrassing!

"You…" Steven looked shocked as he spoke, he was caught completely off guard by her gesture.

"Just shut up and go to sleep. We're both cold, so…" May grumbled aggressively. She couldn't see it, but Steven smiled. He wrapped his arms around her small figure and pulled her closer, breathing in her sweet scent. May flinched a bit at his touch, but didn't voice her protests. Her eyelids felt heavy and she was entirely exhausted, so she just closed her eyes. May found it strange how easily she was able to fall asleep in this man's arms.

The girl may have found sleep quickly, but Steven, on the other hand, was completely unable to sleep a wink. This girl was absolutely intoxicating, he decided.


	13. Chapter 13

(Author's Notes)

Finally chapter thirteen is finished! This chapter turned out quite a bit longer than the others, so I hope you will enjoy it!

Fair warning though; this chapter is very dark.

Oh! And I updated the cover art with the completed piece. If you'd to see it in full, please check out the link on my profile page. ^^

Reviews!

**archnemesisnae:** I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

**lightxhope2124:** Yaay, I'm glad you like Steven! I tried to base him off of ORAS, and then flesh out his character from there.

**Aurawarrior13:** I'm not really into OCs myself haha. But I'm glad you like it!

* * *

Brendan was unable to sleep a wink that night. He had tried calling May many times since she had rushed out earlier that evening, but the girl had neglected to answer even once, and his worried mind had run wild imagining what could have happened to her. Brendan had been about ready to head out to Meteor Falls himself by the time the early morning hours rolled around, but the injured Lisia had stopped him, reminding the teen that his Pokemon were not suited for battle. All the pair could do was wait. As the morning dragged by, Brendan paced the halls of the Professor's house. Wasn't there something he could do?

While bright morning light spread over the town of Fallarbor, a boy turned up on the professor's doorstep that Brendan hadn't met before. The green haired teen nervously introduced himself as "Wally", and mentioned that he was a friend of May's. Apparently, he had heard about what happened on the buzznav. Their conversation was cut short, however, when the front door was aggressively thrown open, and both teens turned towards the commotion.

Framed in the doorway by bright orange sunlight, stood the Champion of the Hoenn league. The strange thing was… he was completely shirtless, and held tightly in his arms, was the small form of a sleeping May. Her figure was drowned in a shirt and jacket that was much too large for her, and the white fabric seemed to be slipping idly off her shoulder. Steven found himself feeling immediately annoyed, as these teens stared at the two of them in pure shock, a heavy blush spread across Wally's features. May had told him early that morning, when they had set out, to take her to Cozmo's house, but he wasn't expecting two males to be here. He could feel his eyebrow twitch.

"She's injured." Steven said flatly, clearly annoyed. Brendan and Wally's expressions turned from shocked to worried and concerned in a single moment, and the pair quickly scrambled to make a place for May on the couch. Steven laid her down gently, and Wally called for a local doctor on his pokenav. Both boys were burning with questions — what had happened in Meteor Falls, exactly? However, the air around the silver haired champion was quite unapproachable as he sat beside May, his sour expression fixed on the wall as his hand idly played with May's hair while she slept.

The first person to speak up was Lisia, as she waltzed out of one of the inner bedrooms in the house, a bandage wrapped around her injured head.

"I figured you'd turn up, if Team Aqua was involved." She commented blandly, as she took a seat in a nearby armchair. A hand placed gently beneath her chin, she examined Steven carefully. She had never seen him act this way. Was he really that worried for this girl? Wallace's little protege was turning out to be quite fascinating.

It wasn't long before the rural doctor arrived, and Wally gently shook May awake as Steven explained what had happened. The man nodded and began examining the sleepy girl's wounds. May winced a bit when he looked over and treated the gash on her leg. She bit down hard on her lip as he turned her ankle, testing how painful it was.

"Well, she's definitely beat up, but not seriously wounded. Her ankle is sprained pretty badly, but everything should heal up nicely in few weeks, with proper treatment." The doctor concluded, and the men in the room looked highly relieved at his words. May yawned and stretched, as Steven led the doctor out of the house. Brendan and Wally immediately approached May.

"You had me really worried, stupid…" Brendan mumbled, avoiding her gaze. Wally grabbed onto her hand, causing May to blink in confusion. Why did they care so much…?

"Wally? How are you here?" May questioned uncomfortably, completely ignoring the feeling in the room.

"O-oh, well… I've been to Fallarbor with my parents before, a-and Raltz recently learned teleport, so… as s-soon as I heard what was happening, I-I came…" He explained quietly. He really wasn't supposed to travel at all, but he knew he had to come and make sure she was okay. Steven caught the tail end of their conversation as he re-entered the room.

"You have a Pokemon that knows teleport? Have you been to Mt. Chimney?" Steven questioned hurriedly. Now that he knew May wasn't seriously injured, he had to get to Mt. Chimney as quickly as possible. Maxie and his men should have already arrived there.

"I-I haven't… but, I h-have been to Mauville." Wally quickly responded with, he understood the situation and agreed to take Steven and his Pokemon as far as he could.

"EXCUSE ME? You guys are obviously forgetting something." May interrupted them, with annoyance clearly written on her face. All eyes turned to her. May gave the boys a little wink.

"Of course I'm coming too. No way I'm letting those idiots get away with this." She stated confidently. Brendan gave her a concerned look.

"After everything they've done to you… you still want to fight them?" He questioned, clearly shocked by the girl's strength. She may seem like an airhead, but May certainly had a lot of courage — or maybe it was stubbornness? Steven fixed her with a stern look.

"You are injured. You're not coming." He said with finality. Lisia could practically see the sparks flying from her seat in the corner. May laughed bitterly at his words.

"That's absolutely adorable. You think you have a say in what I do? I'm coming."

"You are not." Steven responded with flatly. He had already failed to protect her once, he wasn't going to let it happen again. May turned to Wally.

"Well, you can't really stop me. He's taking me, right Wally?"

"I… umm, also t-think it's a b-bad idea…" He mumbled, quite terrified of May's response. The girl grit her teeth and the present company could see the waves of anger radiating from her.

"FINE. If you losers won't take me with you, I'll find my own way there! I'll walked if I have to!" She shouted, jumping to her feet. She winced and bit her tongue as pain shot through her injured leg, but she stood firm in defiance.

"I may be injured, but my Pokemon are healthy and we can fight! There's no way I'm letting Team Aqua get the better of me!" She stated. Steven looked instantly worried and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her back onto the couch. He sighed frustratedly, and for a few moments he stared at her determined expression, their faces inches apart. That fiery look in her eyes… he couldn't deny it, it was exciting.

"If I let you come with me… you have to promise not to leave my sight, okay?"

May smirked triumphantly.

* * *

A few hours later, May, Steven, and Wally found themselves inside the Mauville Pokemon center. Brendan had decided to stay behind with Lisia, after being quite frankly told by Steven that he didn't need anymore dead weight on this expedition. This, of course, had earned a violent outburst from May.

By late morning, May and Steven had equipped themselves with the supplies that they would need for the journey, as well as a much needed change of clothes for both of them. May had managed to purchase a rather touristy-looking walking stick with a Seviper head carved into the tip, from a souvineer shop in Mauville, and she seemed quite proud of herself as she stumbled around with it.

When it came time for Steven and May to make their leave, Wally couldn't look May in the eye. He could not deny it — he was extremely worried about the injured girl going up against such terrible people, but he tried to remind himself that she had the Hoenn league champion with her to keep her safe. Wally found himself wondering, though, if this man was really reliable.

"P-please… be careful…" Wally murmured to May, as he held tightly onto her hand. May smirked.

"Don't be stupid, it's me, so I'll definitely win, hah!" May shouted with a fist pump. However, despite her bravado, she herself knew these weren't the best odds for her, and she found it hard to believe her own words. Still, she knew she _had_ to do this. May wasn't a hero, and she knew it — this wasn't about good or bad, right or wrong. She needed to prove to herself that she was strong enough to overcome this. It was that simple for her.

Wally smiled weakly as they said their goodbyes, and May waved to him as she hobbled off to meet Steven at the edge of town. The pair then set off for Mt. Chimney. Steven insisted on carrying May at least until they reached the cable cars at the foot of the Mountain, and the perturbed girl had begrudgingly agreed.

It was a short walk to the foot of the mountain, but once they arrived, it appeared the workers had fled the area. Was this due to Team Aqua? Still, the process for starting the cable cars was relatively simple to activate, and the two of them soon found themselves seated across from each other in the small cable car.

As the car slowly crept along, hoisting them further up the mountain, Steven found himself staring rather fixedly at May as she watched the scenery outside. The fiery afternoon sun illuminated her cold eyes, and her expression was somewhat of a mystery to him. Was she worried… or was that determination…?

He found it so strange that he was so very drawn to this girl. Sure, this wasn't his first encounter with romantic situations and feelings — he had had relationships in the past. However, those girls had all been rich, well to-do women hand picked by his well meaning father, and none of them had gone very far. He had just never been interested. But now… he knew he had feelings for May. But what could he do about it? May was a mystery. He sighed. But more importantly… could he protect her from all of this, when she was so keen on making Team Aqua her own personal vendetta?

"Wow…" His thoughts were interrupted as May's pink lips parted. Her eyes were glued to the nearing summit of Mt. Chimney. Smoke billowed wildly towards them, and orange flames could be seen licking at the foliage of the summit. Steven averted his eyes. The battle had begun.

"May… are you prepared for what you're going to see up there? This is not child's play anymore. This is a real battlefield, where life and death are on the line." He explained gravely. May clenched her fists, but neglected to speak. Hoenn had been immersed in a time of peace for so very long now, that it was hard for either of them to believe that such an evil organization, like Team Aqua, could arise with such an extensive reach and power. For hundreds of years, the people of Hoenn had lived peaceably with one another — there was no real police force, and yet people got along affably and treated one another with kindness for the most part, at the very least in their public lives. Most people credited this to the domestication of Pokemon, and the tender bonds that they had discovered.

"Our goal is to find and eradicate their leader, Archie. Permanently. Do you know what that means?" Steven asked stiffly. He didn't want May to see the things he knew she was about to; he wanted to protect her. However, even he knew that they were far beyond that point now. May nodded firmly. She had never even thought about having to kill someone before… would she be able to if it came down to her?

Soon, the cable car came to a screeching halt, and May could smell the smoke in the air as she and Steven stepped out onto the battlefield.

* * *

As May stepped out of the cable car, and onto the rocky surface of Mt. Chimney, she found herself frozen in her tracks by the sight that met her. Thick smoke hung in the air, as fires burned rampant on the brush that surrounded the mountain top. A writhing field of humans and Pokemon stood before her; some were dressed in the familiar blue and white outfits of Team Aqua, but still others were dressed in a strange red outfit that May didn't recognize. She had never seen such violence in all her life, and she could feel her heart pounding. Pokemon attacked one another with killing force, and humans screamed in pain as jaws closed around their throats. Blood lay spilled like water amongst the Pokemon and humans who had fallen, and their comrades and enemies alike trampled over their bodies as they continued to fight.

Steven placed a gentle hand on May's shoulder, and urged her forward.

"Stay close. I will protect you." He whispered into her ear as he led her through the crowd.

"Keep your eyes peeled for Archie; he's our target." Steven explained, as they made their way through the battlefield, careful to avoid getting in anyone's way. Most of the grunts were too focused on their own battles to pay them much mind, so the pair was able to move freely.

May could feel her body start to tremble as she stumbled on with her cheap walking stick. Her eyes flitted from one scene of horror to the next, and she began to feel sick to her stomach. May had never experienced anything like this, and it shook her more than she had expected. Is this what Team Aqua was truly capable of?

May nearly jumped out of her skin when something caught her foot and she tumbled over, falling none too gently to the rocky ground beneath her. She groaned as she sat up, rubbing her pained ankle as her eyes opened wide. May quickly clasped a small hand over her mouth in horror, though, as her eyes stumbled over the object of her misfortune. There was a man lying only inches from her, and she could only describe him as lifeless. Blood lay in large pools around his mutilated body, and his dead eyes seemed to stare straight into her soul.

"S-steven?" May called on instinct, her voice cracking. Looking around, however, she couldn't see the silver haired man anywhere. Had they gotten separated?! Panic welled up inside of May's chest. She couldn't think straight, and her body seemed to move on its own. She stumbled to her feet and started running, completely ignoring the sharp pains in her leg. May didn't know where she was going, she only knew that she couldn't stay there any longer. Was that man really dead…? The only time May had ever seen a corpse, was at her Mother's funeral years ago, but this… this was different. This man had been killed.

When May finally came to, she found herself at the edge of the plateau that served as the main area that the battle raged on. She could see a hot, bubbling pool of lava before her, and the heat wafted up into her face as she stared at the red liquid. She could still hear the noxious screams of the grunts and their Pokemon, but at least she could recover here, if for just a moment. She took in a few steady, deep breaths and fervently reminded herself why she was here. She needed to find Archie! She focused her mind entirely on that objective, trying to block out all of her fears and terror. May exhaled sharply to steady her nerves, and turned her attention to her surroundings. As she looked around for any signs of Archie, she noticed a narrow pathway that led around a large rocky outcrop. It was well hidden and almost overgrown with foliage, but looking closer, she could see small, bright red blood drops painting the rocks that formed the pathway. Someone wounded had obviously been down that way… so maybe…? May didn't giver herself time to think. Limping, she took off down the pathway, her hands gripping onto the rocky wall beside her for support.

As May rounded the corner, she could see a transparent, man-made platform that stretched from the mountain's lip out over it's lava-filled maw. She immediately recognized the woman from Meteor Falls standing guard, but beyond her May couldn't see much due to the smoke. Maybe this was the right way to go, after all? She smirked and approached the woman. May's injured state had her looking less than vicious, but she made up for it with a violent smile and the scent of revenge.

The woman, Shelly, met her with a heavy glare.

"What hell are _you _doing here, brat?! Didn't you learn your lesson?" She growled, a rebellious hand placed on her hip. May chuckled darkly.

"It's not that easy to get rid of me." She commented dryly, as she examined her nails. Shelly rolled her eyes.

"Hmph. I'll admit it, you're persistent. But to Archie… and me… and all of Team Aqua… your existence is _annoying_! I want to see Archie's dream unfold, and I won't let you get in the way. Prepare yourself, little girl! _I'll be sure the job is done this time_!" Shelly yelled fiercely, reaching for her pokeball. May clenched her jaw, the memories of the battlefield she had witnessed running through her mind. Was this the chaos that Archie wanted?

A few moments later, Kanato and Shelley's Grimer were facing off. May knew now that her and Pokemon's life were on the line, but she wasn't going to back down. It took a few turns to wittle down the Grimer's health, but in the end, Kanato and May were successful with rapid, powerful attacks. Shelly's next Pokemon, Carvanha, was defeated rather soundly by Tsubaki's grass attacks, and the battle came to an end with Tsubaki's leaf-like blade at Shelly's neck. Shelley gulped heavily.

"Go ahead and kill me if you want! You won't stop Archie!" She screamed, desperation in her voice. May shuddered, but she couldn't help hesitating as Tsubaki watched her closely for an order. Steven hadn't mentioned taking out any other Aqua members… but this woman was obviously high ranking, so if they really wanted to defeat Team Aqua once and for all… would they need to kill Shelley, too? May had thought, before she came to the mountain, that she was prepared for this, but now, she felt that she was anything but. May could feel her hands trembling and her palms felt sweaty. What should she do?

"Tsubaki—" May's order was cut off in her throat as a booming, deep laughter rattled her ears. Through the sheets of smoke, appeared none other than the imposing figure of Team Aqua's leader, Archie. He walked towards them with careful, steady steps, watching Shelley struggle with Tsubaki, a bemused smile on his cruel face.

"Now, now, what do we have here? The skamp decided to show her pretty little face again?" Archie mused, his dead eyes shifting over to May. The girl stiffened under his gaze, quickly motioning Tsubaki to return to her side. She knew threats against this woman's life would get her nowhere with the uncaring Archie, and she had to play her cards right if she was going to be successful. This was her chance to prove herself; she had to be strong! May let a smirk curve it's way across her lips.

"Of course! I would never pass up an opportunity for _revenge_, Mr. Pirate guy." She stated with a cute little hand gesture, and a charming smile. Archie laughed heartily, but turned his back to her.

"You came to stop me, then? Come this way." He said, walking off down the platform. May hesitated, but in the end, she decided to follow him cautiously. Shelley fixed the girl with a surly gaze, but stayed put and made no attempts to follow them. May knew her main priority right now had to be Archie, and Shelley wasn't a threat now that her Pokemon were defeated. But could she really do it…?

Archie led her to the end of the platform, and May found it unsettling that she could see the steaming lava through the transparent tiles beneath her feet. At the end of the platform, stood a large, pulsating machine, that appeared to be hooked up to the meteorite they had stolen. More disturbing, however, was the crumpled, bloody form of professor Cozmo that lay at its feet.

"Professor…" May mumbled in shock. What had they done to him? Archie raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, him?" The burly man asked, turning to the unresponsive Cozmo. Archie looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I suppose, really, his job is done. He tried to hold out, but in the end, he told us everything we needed to know." He commented, walking over to the other man. May felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

In the blink of an eye, Archie shoved his boot hard into the professor's stomach, and the force sent his body careening over the edge of the platform. May would never forget the screams that echoed through the mountain that afternoon, as Cozmo was consumed by the lava below. For a few moments, May stood in complete shock.

"The great swell of power that sleeps deep in the magma…and it's the key to controlling the super-ancient Pokemon's power?" Archie wondered aloud, running a heavy hand over the machine. May's shock slowly gave way to fury. She knew she wasn't a particularly nice person, in fact, she was pretty rotten most of the time, but this… she couldn't let this happen. She had to stop this! She had to stop Team Aqua!

"With the right bit of work, this little meteorite can be made into a Key Stone, which is certainly quite valuable to me. As long as we're here at Mt. Chimney… Bwahahahah! Look what I nearly went and did! If I give away all my secrets, the thrill'd be gone from our relationship." Archie exclaimed with a grandiose gesture. May rolled her eyes.

"Cut the crap. You know why I'm here." May said flatly, and Tsubaki tensed at her words, ready to attack.

"Very well, girlie, let the battle begin!"


	14. Chapter 14

_(Author's Notes)_

_Welcome to chapter fourteen! I'm sorry it took so long, I had a big test at school... But anyways, in the upcoming chapters there's going to be a lot of Wally~~_

_Onto reviews._

_**archnemesisnae: **Thank you so much, I'm glad you like it! :D_

_**RoseNitemare: **I will not be writing the Delta episode for this story, actually. After May beats the league, the story will end. However, I'm actually planning on starting a new Pokemon story about either Johto or Sinnoh. We will see! I'm glad you're liking May more, I feel like she's growing a lot haha. Thank you!_

_**organizationkhII: **I'm glad you enjoyed that! I felt that, with this story, I wanted to delve into some of the tougher issues that the Pokemon series doesn't usually address. ^^_

_**Aurawarrior13: **The update is here! Thank you, and I hope you enjoy~_

* * *

The battle between May and Archie was a long and arduous one; it was a battle that tested the strengths and weaknesses of both combatants. Archie's first Pokemon was a Mightyena, which managed to get a few hits in on Tsubaki, before the Grovyle managed to take it out. His second Pokemon, a high-level Golbat, gave the pair a lot more trouble. In the end, it tore through her team with confuse ray, until Yui finally managed to take it out. His final Pokemon left May feeling more than a little nervous. The vicious, dead eyes of a Sharpedo — that very much matched its owner's — watched over Yui and May, as if they were nothing but prey.

The battle raged on, and though Yui fought tremendously, it was a little too close for May's comfort. May knew that she and Yui were the only ones left standing, and both of them were entirely exhausted. The Sharpedo was running on its last bits of energy as well, however, and it's tiredness was evidenced by it's lazy movements. May figured she had one chance at this. This attack had to be all or nothing. She had to win!

"Yui, use Assist!" May ordered, smiling impishly. Archie raised an eyebrow. He had to admit, at least this girl had guts. Still, he was determined she wouldn't live much longer. Yui gave her trainer one last look to confirm her orders, as she panted heavily from exhaustion. May only nodded firmly. Before the Sharpedo could react, Yui twisted her tail and initiated the attack. May mumbled a quiet prayer, her fingers crossed. She knew her life, and that of others, was at stake.

Suddenly, a bright green light flashed, and a set of gnarled roots sprang up through the rocky ground, tunneling their way towards Archie and his Sharpedo. Archie's eyes widened in shock.

"F-frenzy plant?! Get the hell out of there!" Archie yelled at his Pokemon, but it was too late. The massive roots collided with Sharpedo, and the impact threw Archie off his feet and left him with a beaten and bruised Pokemon, that could no longer remain conscious. May couldn't believe what had just happened, but she had no time to congratulate herself. She swallowed hard.

"Ya stupid bitch…" Archie growled under his breath. His mouth set into a snarl, and as Yui raised her claws to the man's neck, his hands shook with rage. How could he have been defeated by this little skamp?!

Yui awaited the order to kill, but May's lips trembled and she found herself unable to speak. To take someone's life… that was something she had never thought about before. She averted her gaze from Archie's stormy eyes. For all her bravado, May felt pathetic. Why couldn't she do this?! Wasn't it the right thing…? May sighed. She knew it had never been about that. She wasn't noble or any kind of highly moral person. So then why… couldn't she do it…?

May's thought's were interrupted by heavy gusts of wind that assaulted her face. Looking up, she could see Archie grinning like a maniac. A shadow fell over the group, and as May gazed skyward, she could see a large flying Pokemon hovering over them, and on it's back was a man she didn't recognize.

"Ah… Matt, just in time!" Archie shouted triumphantly. May quickly called for Yui, who then scurried to her trainer. She grit her teeth. This wasn't good at all.

"May… I will remember that name, little girl." Was all Archie said, before he was hoisted onto the Pokemon's back, and subsequently disappeared into the smoky sky.

May could only stare in shock. She had failed… and the professor was… Her legs shook with pain, and tears began to spring down her cheeks as she fell to her knees. Clutching Yui to her chest, May felt sobs wrack her body.

It was over.

* * *

Steven was absolutely frantic. It had been thirty whole minutes since he'd lost May in the crowd, and he couldn't believe he had been so stupid. The battle had petered out, and though many of Team Aqua's grunts had retreated quite suddenly, Maxie and Team Magma had managed to round up quite a few to be interrogated. Many of the grunts were now working with the local rangers to put out the fires that had spread. All and all, despite not having found Archie or the admins, Steven could count it as a victory, since no catastrophe had befallen the region. Steven had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with May, but where the hell was she?

When one of the grunts spotted a small figure stumbling out of the bramble off in the distance, the meteorite clutched in her hands, Steven had immediately run to the the girl, wrapping his arms around her. May's eyes were red and irritated from crying, and she barely seemed able to stand. However, she was alive, and that was all Steven cared about in that moment.

"I couldn't do it… I-I failed… The Professor… I couldn't even save him." May mumbled into Steven's shoulder, fresh tears gathering at the edges of her eyes. She felt a tremendous regret. Steven shook his head.

"Don't worry about that, Princess. I'm just glad you're okay…" He said firmly. May, however, didn't seem to hear him. He fingers clenched around his jacket.

"Next time… I won't hesitate."

* * *

After a tense ride in the cable car, May and Steven were surprised to find Wally and a bunch of reporters waiting for them at the base of the mountain. Steven shooed the reporters away, with perhaps more force than was necessary, and the three took refuge in the visitor's center for Mount Chimney, which was quite thankfully empty at the time. As Steven closed the door, Wally immediately embraced May tightly, tears in his eyes. May smirked.

"Jeez, it hasn't even been that long, idiot. You better not be falling for me!" May teased. Wally blushed furiously.

"I-I was so… w-worried…" He mumbled into her chest, but feeling Steven's stern glare on his back, he quickly released the girl. May rolled her eyes.

"You guys worry too much." She commented drily. Turning his gaze from Wally to May, Steven's frown turned into a smile.

"So, where are you headed to now? Of course I will go with you, since you're injured." May looked thoughtful at his words.

"I haven't really thought about it, honestly." She responded with, ignoring the last part of his sentence.

"W-well… maybe y-you should check out t-the hot springs in Lavaridge? It w-would be a g-good place recover… and there's a gym there…" Wally suggested. May thought it over as she glanced at the map on her pokenav.

"Hmm… that's not a bad idea." May concluded. It was pretty close by, after all.

"Then we will—" Steven's words were interrupted when his pokenav began ringing. Seeing Maxie's name flash across the screen, he stepped aside and took the call.

Maxie reported that they'd begun interrogating the grunts that his team had captured, but that all they knew so far was that Archie was after something at Mt. Pyre. Steven gritted his teeth. They knew where he would strike next, but not why or when. After the call had ended, he returned to the other two.

"You really want to come?" May questioned Wally suspiciously.

"Ummm… I-I think the s-springs would be good for me, a-as well… And I really w-want to start t-traveling." Wally stated, and May could see the passion in his eyes. She chuckled.

"That is not necessary. I will take care of May." Steven suddenly interrupted the pair rather bitterly. Wally couldn't help but flinch. May rolled her eyes.

"Hah. I don't need to be taken care of. Besides, you're obviously busy. Wally and I will go to Lavaridge." May concluded, her voice sounding rather annoyed. In all honesty, after everything that happened between she and Steven at Meteor Falls, May felt more than a little uncomfortable around the man, and she was eager to get away from him for a bit. She found that her feelings towards him were quite confused. After all… he saw her break down on Mt. Chimney… and she didn't like that he saw that weakness in her.

Steven blinked in surprise.

"Is that… what you really want?" He asked quietly. He couldn't express the tight feeling he felt in his chest.

"Yeah, it's fine." May responded with, unaware of his wounded feelings. Steven could only watch as the two of them left him behind.

* * *

"Y-you know… you c-can rely on me a little, M-May." Wally mumbled nervously, as they made their way down the mountain. Beside him, May was hobbling along with her walking stick, looking confident as ever. However, this only concerned Wally more. The terrain was getting more treacherous, and he worried that she would trip and injure herself further.

"Seriously, between you and Steven…" May commented with a sigh, trailing off as Wally paused and crouched suddenly.

"P-please… I can c-carry you on my back." Wally's voice wavered, but his words were firm. He wanted to help her. May raised an eyebrow.

"Ahhh… is that really a good idea? You're a pretty sickly guy, right?" May said, clearly not convinced. Wally felt his brow furrow.

"I can do this." Was all he said, but the sharpness of his words struck May oddly.

"Suit yourself…" She mumbled, reluctantly climbing onto his back. Wally could feel his cheeks flaming as May's arms looped around his neck, holding onto him tightly. He took a deep beeath, and stood. May was surprised at the teen's strength as he carried her down the mountain, one careful step at a time. May found herself wondering if maybe, somehow, she had underestimated this guy's spirit. Maybe…

May's thoughts were interrupted, as her pokenav began ringing. Pulling it from her bag, she sighed at the sight of the caller ID.

"Steven…" She mumbled quietly, hanging up the phone and tossing it back into her bag. This was the third time he had called since she and Wally had left. May honestly didn't know what to think of that. She knew he had to be teasing her… but why was he so persistent? May found herself feeling more confused than ever. What was with these guys? She didn't understand at all.

A couple of hours later, and Wally had nearly made it down the mountain, May clutching onto his back. They were a little over half an hour out from Lavaridge, but May could see Wally wasn't doing too well. He was breathing heavily, and she could feel his body trembling beneath her.

"Really… I can walk the rest of the way…" May mumbled into his ear, but Wally shook his head fervently.

"I-I… I can do this. I can… h-help you…" Wally stated with determination, as he carefully made his way along the rocky path. May felt a little flustered at his refusal.

"What is up with you, hah?! I don't need to be babied!" May protested, squirming a bit.

"P-please… I w-want to do this." Wally murmured between wheezing. May found herself unable to say anything. This guy… he was much stronger than she would ever be, May thought. He wasn't selfish like she was, and it made her think that maybe he pitied her. But why would he push himself so far…?

"Ahh… I can see the city…" May breathed into Wally's ear, and the ticklish sensation of her breath made Wally feel happy.

"Y-yeah…"


End file.
